Bitcoin Mining Difficulty Rises to 148 Trillion as Daily Revenue Hits Three‑Month Low

Bitcoin’s mining difficulty increased 5.54% on Oct. 29, climbing from 140.58 trillion to 148.36 trillion after a prior 5.92% jump on Oct. 16. The rise reflects a rebound in network hashrate as miners restore computing power that had been eroded by a shift toward AI‑related infrastructure. According to Real Vision’s Jamie Coutts, the network’s 14‑day average hashrate fell 23% from its October 2025 peak to February 2026, the steepest drop since China’s 2021 mining ban. Since mid‑July, hashrate has recovered 21%, adding roughly 185 EH/s and reaching its highest level in seven months. Despite this rebound, daily mining revenue has fallen to about $33 per petahash‑second, the lowest since August, underscoring the financial pressure miners face as they compete for limited block rewards while some companies pivot to more predictable AI data‑center contracts.