Bitcoin Mining Difficulty Drops 7.76% in Major 2026 Decline

Bitcoin mining difficulty has seen its second largest decline so far in 2026. The mining difficulty for the largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization fell 7.76%, reaching 133.79 trillion, a drop of 7.76%, marking the second largest decline so far in 2026.

Bitcoin difficulty adjusted to 133.79T at block height 941,472, with a 760.10 EH/s average hashrate and average block times of 12 minutes 36 seconds.

Bitcoin’s price has returned above $70,000 after dropping to a low of $68,772 on Thursday. Bitcoin fell for three straight days upon reaching a high of $76,022 on March 17 before it recovered.

Bitcoin has traded within a relatively tight range of roughly $65,000 to $75,000 over the last two months. On Tuesday, Bitcoin briefly rose to a six-week high of almost $76,000, indicating a short-lived recovery in momentum as it has not consistently held above that level since January.

Bitcoin price awaits next move

At the time of writing, Bitcoin was up 0.05% in the last 24 hours to $70,711 and down 0.04% weekly.

Worries about risk assets have limited the upside for Bitcoin, even after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday unveiled new details of how it will classify cryptocurrencies. In long-awaited guidance, the SEC stated that digital commodities like Bitcoin will not be classified as securities, which means holders could avoid greater regulatory burdens.

However, this was not enough to boost the BTC price over a volatile week. The Fear and Greed Index, which measures sentiment across the crypto market, remains in the fear zone.

Bitcoin has more room to move within the $65,000 to $75,000 range. Breaking out of here may require more momentum to determine the market’s direction for the coming days or weeks.

In the medium term, traders are now pricing in a 50% chance of a Federal Reserve increase by October.