Cryptocurrency Market Update: Prices consolidate as Bitcoin mining difficulty breaks two-year record
- Bitcoin holds above $9,400 after failing to rise above $9,600 seller congestion zone.
- Bitcoin mining difficulty shoots by 14.95%; the highs since January 2018.
All the major cryptocurrencies are in the red in spite of the recovery witnessed from the declines on Monday. Ripple (XRP) is the most affected on Thursday, losing at least 1% of its value. Bitcoin Cash has not been spared following a slide back under $240. BCH/USD is down 0.7% to trade at $238 at the time of writing.
The two largest digital assets, Bitcoin and Ethereum are also trying to hold above key buyer areas after rejection at key price levels. Bitcoin bulls are working hard to keep the price above $9,400 while Ethereum buyers are keen on protecting the support at $230.
A wider scope of the market shows some cryptoassets are still in the green, ignoring the widespread bearish pressure. For instance, Bitcoin Gold is up 1.85% on the day from $8.61 to $8.68 (market value). IOTA is trading 0.31% above the opening value ($0.2246) and NEO is up 0.19% to exchange hands at 10.57.
Related content: Cryptocurrency Market News: $10,000 a pipe dream for Bitcoin, Ethereum and Ripple settle for consolidation
Bitcoin mining difficulty adjustment
Bitcoin mining difficulty has seen a massive roll upwards, breaking a two-year record likely due to the bearish pressure in the market. Data by BTC.com released on June 17; difficulty adjusted upwards by 14.95% (the highest since January 2018). This adjustment is big enough to almost erase the previous negative adjustments of -9.29% and -6%. Difficulty adjustment is a sustainable way of Bitcoin network taking care of itself regardless of miner participation and price action. It determines the cost and effort needed when validating blockchain transactions.
Theoretically, mining difficulty has an impact on the cost to the miners. For instance, a higher difficulty could see miners selling Bitcoin on exchanges to protect their profitability. Following the recent adjustment, on Wednesday, the amount of Bitcoin miners floated on the market was almost equal to the Bitcoin created. Data by Byte tree shows that over the last 24 hours miners were able to produce 781 BTC but they sold 739 BTC.
Bitcoin hash rate also in the rise
The hash rate measures the network activity by participation, which has continued to rise since the massive recovery recorded in May. In spite of the 50% slash in mining rewards due to the halving, the hash rate joining the market has been more than “ANY TIME since the historic 2017/2018 market bull run,” according to portfolio manager, Blockfolio’s comment on Twitter in regard to difficulty adjustment.
