Bitcoin Mining Difficulty Drops 2.43% as Miner Revenue Slumps and Hashrate Stays Below 1 ZH/s

Difficulty Recalculation Brings Relief — Down to 135.59 T

On April 17, 2026, Bitcoin's latest difficulty adjustment resulted in a 2.43% decline, bringing the metric down to 135.59 T. The reduction reflects a period of reduced computational power on the network leading up to the recalculation.

At the time of writing, the average hashrate stands at 988.7 EH/s, with the average block interval dropping below 10 minutes. According to Glassnode data, the 7-day moving average of network computational power recovered from approximately 978 EH/s to roughly 992 EH/s since early April. However, the hashrate has consistently remained below the symbolic 1 ZH/s threshold since March.

Why This Matters

A downward difficulty adjustment signals that mining machines were taken offline during the previous epoch, typically due to profitability concerns. Combined with declining total industry revenue and stagnant BTC prices, the current environment is squeezing miners — particularly those operating with higher energy costs or older-generation hardware. The broader trend raises questions about the long-term sustainability of current mining economics.

Hashprice Sees a Modest Bounce

According to Hashrate Index, the combination of lower difficulty and Bitcoin's price recovery toward $78,000 pushed the hashprice from roughly $35 per PH/s per day to above $36. A subsequent dip in BTC's price then corrected the profitability metric back to somewhere between those two figures.

Industry Alarm Level at 'Six or Seven Out of Ten'

Weak on-chain activity and Bitcoin's price stagnation are preventing miners from reaching breakeven, as reported by DL News. Data from The Block shows that the share of transaction fees in miner revenue dropped below 1% last year and has recently approached just 0.5%.

Total miner revenue plummeted from $1.62 billion in October 2025 to $948 million in March 2026. Luxor CEO Nick Hansen described the situation as unfavorable, noting there are no positive catalysts supporting further investment in new mining operations. He also identified miner diversification into AI as a significant threat to the industry.

Hansen assessed the current alarm level for the mining sector at "six or seven" on a ten-point scale.

Public Miners Dumping Bitcoin at Record Pace

Adding to the pressure, publicly traded mining companies sold 32,000 BTC during Q1 2026 alone — exceeding total sales for the entire year of 2025. This record liquidation underscores the growing financial strain on industry participants who are forced to sell mined coins to cover operational expenses.