Bitcoin mining difficulty falls, but projected to rise in next adjustment

The Bitcoin ($BTC) mining difficulty, the relative challenge of adding new blocks to the $BTC blockchain, fell on Saturday, amid public mining companies selling record amounts of $BTC to cover operating expenses.

The Bitcoin mining difficulty fell to about 135.5 T, a modest decrease of about 1.1% over the last 24 hours, according to data from CoinWarz. Mining difficulty is also projected to increase in the next adjustment period. CoinWarz said:

“The next Bitcoin difficulty adjustment is estimated to take place on May 01, 2026, 01:24:54 PM UTC, increasing the Bitcoin mining difficulty from 135.59 T to 137.43 T, which will take place in 1,865 blocks, about 12 days, 18 hours, and 41 minutes from now.”

Bitcoin miners have faced mounting challenges over the past year, as reduced block rewards, rising energy prices, a crypto bear market and geopolitical shocks create economic headwinds for miners.

Related: Solo Bitcoin miner bags $210K Bitcoin block reward

Public mining companies sell record amounts of $BTC

Publicly traded Bitcoin mining companies sold more $BTC in Q1 2026 than all four quarters of 2025 combined, according to TheEnergyMag.

Mining companies MARA, CleanSpark, Riot, Cango, Core Scientific and Bitdeer, sold more than 32,000 $BTC in total during Q1 2026, TheEnergyMag said.

The combined sales surpassed the 20,000 $BTC sold in Q2 2022, the same quarter as the collapse of the Terra-Luna ecosystem, which plunged crypto into an extended bear market.

Miners periodically sell their $BTC to cover operating expenses, which are denominated in fiat currency.

However, as the cost of mining a single $BTC increases past spot market prices, many $BTC mining companies are now treading water.

Up to 20% of Bitcoin miners are unprofitable under current economic conditions, according to asset manager CoinShares’ Q1 2026 mining report.

“Q4 2025 marked the most challenging quarter for Bitcoin miners since the April 2024 halving,” the CoinShares report said.

The authors cited the “sharp” $BTC correction in October 2025, which slashed $BTC’s price from a high of about $125,000 to about $86,000 by December 2025, and the rising computational difficulty of adding blocks as headwinds for the mining industry.

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