The most current on-chain statistics reveals that hash rate and complexity are escalating fast and are in no way plateauing. BTC, USD is not discouraging miners, who have recently emerged from a multi-month collapse period notwithstanding a 7% weekly decline. As the month of August draws to a close, fundamental metrics are squarely in “up only” mode, as network hardware and rivalry have reappeared.
This is readily captured by the difficulty level, which is anticipated to increase by 6.8% the following week. The degree of difficulty reflects, along with many other things, the level of rivalry between miners for block incentives. As per data compiled by the on-chain tracking site BTC, this will be the largest increase in complexity since January 2022. Furthermore, if the 6.8% rise happens, the complexity will reach levels never before seen.
In the latest edition of its monthly newsletter, “Miner Weekly,” released on August 27, Bitcoin mining consulting firm Blocksbridge forecasted that “we may witness a complexity increase ferocious enough to generate a new (or near-new) ATH in the next few days.”
However, Blocksbridge noted that the current circumstance was onerous for all network users. The owners of outdated hardware, for example, were experiencing discomfort as a consequence of spot price drops and a corresponding fall in the value of block rebates and fees in comparison to expenditures such as electricity. While preparing this report, Bitcoin was trading at $19,998, down 1.10% in the past 24 hours.
