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The Bitcoin protocol has just activated one of the most powerful self-regulation mechanisms in its recent history, profoundly changing the financial balances of mining operators. While the sector has been continuously eroding its margins since the beginning of the year, this algorithm update comes at a critical time when the economic survival of mining facilities depends on the smallest fraction of a dollar.
In brief
- The Bitcoin network activates a crucial self-regulation mechanism to relieve mining operators facing the continuous erosion of their financial margins.
- The algorithm confirms a 5 % drop in difficulty to 127.17 trillion, in direct response to blocks produced 5.1 % slower than the theoretical target.
- The overall network power drops by 7.9 % in ten days, allowing the hashprice to initiate a temporary technical rebound to $31.1 per PH/s.
- The mining industry adapts to progressively lower yearly peaks, testing the strength of a critical support zone between 880 and 910 EH/s.
A 14th algorithmic adjustment
On July 11, at block height number 957,600, the Bitcoin network recorded a major modification of its operational structure at 16:09:11, according to the official timestamp. The consensus algorithm validated the following metrics :
- A decrease in difficulty : a 5 % drop in the overall network difficulty ;
- Volume contraction : a withdrawal of about 6.70 trillion ;
- A new threshold : a target set at 127.17 trillion compared to 133.87 trillion previously ;
- The annual ranking : this level stands as the third lowest value of the year, just behind the historic lows observed on June 13 at 124.93 trillion and February 7 at 125.86 trillion.
This direct mathematical correction is the logical consequence of a marked slowdown in the block production rate during the previous cycle. This period, called an epoch, lasted 14 days, 18 hours, and 9 minutes, significantly exceeding the theoretical target of 14 days set by the protocol for mining a segment of 2,016 blocks.
Due to this time elongation, the average time needed to find a block was 10 minutes and 32 seconds. This pace was approximately 5.1 % slower than the original 10-minute target prescribed by the bitcoin code, forcing the protocol to reduce its difficulty to bring the pace back to its initial standard.
The double crisis of hashrate and hashprice : an industry under high tension
The fundamental explanation for this slowdown lies in a massive and rapid flight of computing power allocated to the network at the beginning of July. Indeed, the seven-day moving average of the global hashrate collapsed to reach 908 EH/s on July 11, compared to about 986 EH/s on July 1. This decrease represents a loss of 7.9 % of the total computing power in just ten days. If we broaden the historical perspective, the current network power stands 14.8 % below its level on January 1 which was around 1,065 EH/s, and is 21.3 % behind the all-time high of 1,154 EH/s set in October 2025.
On a purely financial level, this exodus of machines paradoxically caused a temporary breath of fresh air for operators remaining active on the network. The hashprice, which quantifies the expected income for mining companies per petahash per second per day, closed at $31.1 on July 11. This figure represents a technical recovery of 12.5 % from the floor of $27.6 recorded around July 1.
Nevertheless, the economic performance of the industry remains deeply depreciated, as this income is still down by 16.4 % since the beginning of the year and shows a decline of 37.2 % compared to the peak of $49.4 reached in October 2025, reminding that the sector still operates near the yearly low of $27.2 touched in early June.
Macroeconomic perspectives and future impacts for the network
The large-scale analysis of the current year reveals a critical structural trend: the three key indicators related to network operation systematically record lower and lower peaks. Difficulty had reached 146.47 trillion on January 8, before plateauing at 138.97 trillion in April and 133.87 trillion in June.
The hashrate experienced a similar trajectory, peaking at 1,087 EH/s at the end of February and then struggling to maintain above the psychological threshold of 1,000 EH/s. Finally, the hashprice followed this slow decline, dropping from a peak of $41.8 in January to only $39 in May, confirming that each rebound runs out of steam faster than the previous one.
This continuous degradation dynamic reveals an industrial sector that does not undergo a violent and definitive capitulation but learns to cope with a drastic and permanent tightening of its operating margins. The eight negative adjustments recorded among the fourteen changes of the year demonstrate that the algorithm fully plays its role as a safety net by stabilizing production costs, even if the overall average of adjustments remains slightly negative at -0.87 %. This observation proves that the market adjusts in successive and intermittent waves, with the least efficient bitcoin mining operators turning off their machines as soon as electricity costs exceed the yield of their computing power.
For the ecosystem’s future, the major challenge now lies in the strength of the technical support zone between 880 EH/s and 910 EH/s, a level on which the hashrate has bounced several times this year. Two scenarios now oppose each other: either this zone represents a sustainable industrial floor where only players with the latest generation equipment and competitive energy contracts survive, or it is just a technical transition before a new wave of capitulation if the bitcoin price or transaction fees were to weaken.
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Diplômé de Sciences Po Toulouse et titulaire d’une certification consultant blockchain délivrée par Alyra, j’ai rejoint l’aventure Cointribune en 2019.
Convaincu du potentiel de la blockchain pour transformer de nombreux secteurs de l’économie, j’ai pris l’engagement de sensibiliser et d’informer le grand public sur cet écosystème en constante évolution. Mon objectif est de permettre à chacun de mieux comprendre la blockchain et de saisir les opportunités qu’elle offre. Je m’efforce chaque jour de fournir une analyse objective de l’actualité, de décrypter les tendances du marché, de relayer les dernières innovations technologiques et de mettre en perspective les enjeux économiques et sociétaux de cette révolution en marche.
DISCLAIMER
The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in this article belong solely to the author, and should not be taken as investment advice. Do your own research before taking any investment decisions.