Bitcoin Mining Difficulty Drops 11% in Largest Adjustment Since China Ban

Sustained price pressure and weather-related outages reduced mining power, forcing a rare and large network adjustment.

Bitcoin’s mining network went through a major reset over the weekend after a steep fall in computing power. Slower block production over several weeks forced the system to make a rare and large adjustment. Experts cited market pressure and weather-related disruptions as the reasons for such a large move. 

Bitcoin Network Responds to Sudden Loss of Computing Power

Bitcoin mining difficulty fell 11.16% on Saturday, dropping to 125.86 trillion at block height 935,424. Data from Mempool shows the adjustment came after average block times stretched to about 11.4 minutes, well above the network’s 10-minute target.

Image Source: Mempool

According to Bitcoin developer Mononaut, the adjustment represents the biggest difficulty drop since China forced miners to shut down operations in July 2021. Few adjustments of this size have ever occurred, placing the move among the ten largest declines in the network’s history.

As many miners shut down their machines, the network’s computing power declined, causing blocks to be produced more slowly. Over the past month, about one-fifth of the network’s mining power disappeared, with much of that loss happening in just the past week.

Since China’s mining ban, Bitcoin has seen very few large difficulty drops. The largest prior incident occurred in June 2025, when extreme heat forced many miners to scale back operations. Another smaller difficulty cut occurred in early February 2025.

Price Slump and U.S. Weather Events Cut Bitcoin Mining Activity

Experts suggest the recent price weakness remain a factor behind the hashrate retreat. Bitcoin has dipped from its October peak of above $126,000, falling more than 45%.

Bitcoin prices came under pressure as government bond yields rose and investors pulled money from exchange-traded funds. Further, the broader shift away from risk assets also weighed on demand. Data from SoSoValue shows U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs becoming net sellers in 2026.

At the same time, a winter storm in the United States knocked a large share of mining power offline. At one point, as much as 40% of global hashrate was unavailable. Miners across several power regions reduced activity to ease stress on local grids and protect household electricity supply.

In contrast, lower mining difficulty offers short-term relief. With fewer machines online, miners still operating face less competition and can earn more per unit of computing power if prices remain stable.

Still, the OG coin is trading near $69,475 and price charts point to continued weakness across both short and long-term periods. This downside signals weak market confidence and limits the relief miners expect.