The difficulty of Bitcoin mining has been below its peak for 374 consecutive days, setting a record for the longest duration in history

According to Bitcoin.com, the difficulty of Bitcoin mining has been below the historical high of 155.97T set on October 29, 2025, for 374 days, marking the longest duration in the network's history, surpassing the 364-day record set after the 2011 crash and the 253 days following China's mining ban in 2021. Economist Saifedean Ammous pointed out that the 95% price retracement in 2011 and the Chinese mining ban did not last as long as this, calling it a new world for Bitcoin mining.

The difficulty dropped to a low of 124.93T in mid-June 2026, about 20% lower than the peak. Although there was a rebound in October, with the difficulty rising to 148.36T, Mempool.space predicts it will decline again by about 3.7% around November 13, further delaying new highs. Reports indicate that the pressure comes from the sluggish Bitcoin price and publicly listed mining companies selling off Bitcoin and shifting towards AI, while the Democrats pushing for data center restrictions after the midterm elections may also impact mining companies.