Bitcoin mining difficulty decreased by 7.4%, and the hash price rose to a nearly 5-month high.

Gate News bot message, the hash price of Bitcoin has surged to its highest point since early February, surpassing the level of $58.5/PH/s after a 7.4% drop in network difficulty (the largest fall since China's mining ban in 2021).

Hash price is a key indicator of miners' profitability, and this rebound coincides with the Bitcoin market rising above $108,000. The dual effect of the increase in Bitcoin price and the decrease in difficulty has brought much-needed profitability improvements for miners, many of whom have been facing margin compression since the fourth quarter of 2024.

The latest difficulty adjustment occurred last weekend, slightly higher than the 7.3% drop during the miner surrender period in December 2022 (the last bear market low). Prior to this adjustment, the seven-day average hash rate of the Bitcoin network had been declining for several weeks, which may be due to the throttling measures taken by U.S. mining sites in response to recent summer heat waves.

The leading North American mining pool Foundry USA Pool has experienced a sharp and intermittent drop in hash rate over the past few weeks, indicating a general reduction in its capacity. However, recent data shows that with rising temperatures and easing of pressure on limits, the network hash rate is currently stabilizing and showing signs of recovery.

The rebound in hash rate has given miners a breather, as they have been operating at break-even or below break-even since the Bitcoin halving event in April last year and the prolonged low trading fees. With hash prices approaching $60/PH/s, it is expected that miners will take advantage of this improved economic benefit, although the outlook remains uncertain due to the potential for hash rate to increase again and the difficulty to rise.

At the same time, the transaction fee for Bitcoin remains sluggish, accounting for only 1.062% of the block reward as of June. If the hash rate continues to recover, the next difficulty adjustment is expected to be slightly increased.