Bitcoin mining difficulty has been on the rise as the network has gained more popularity. This is a far cry from what was expected after China, which was known as the mining capital of the world at that point, had laid a blanket ban on crypto mining. Bitcoin miners had been able to successfully set up in other regions of the world and mining activities have ramped up since then. This time around, it comes along with the growth of blocks mined per hour which has smashed all expectations. Not only has the mining difficulty been affected by this but its effects are being felt all around the mining industry. Bitcoin Mining Difficulty At New ATH? Block production rates have risen higher than anticipated to beat the previous target of 6 blocks mined per hour. This number now stands at 6.2 blocks mined in an hour. This increase in block production has led to an increase in mining difficulty which has pushed it towards new all-time highs. Going forward, there is expected to be a 4-5% difficulty adjustment in mining difficulty. Related Reading | Cardano Turns Bullish In The Short-Term, But Is That All? If this happens, it will easily send the bitcoin mining difficulty towards a new all-time high. It continues to follow the growing trend that began in August of 2021 after the China ban had gone into effect. It would beat all expectations given that the China ban had seen the bitcoin hash rate crash 50% last year. BTC hash rate on t...