This week, the Bitcoin network recorded its second consecutive difficulty reduction: difficulty fell 2.3% on May 1, following a 2.43% drop on April 17. Meanwhile, hashrate has been trending downward and has now slipped below the 1 Zettahash per second (ZH/s) threshold.
Key Takeaways
- Bitcoin's difficulty dropped 2.3% on May 1, marking the sixth reduction in 2026, as hashrate fell below 1 ZH/s.
- Over the past seven days, Foundry USA mined 31.51% of 987 blocks; combined with Antpool and ViaBTC, the three pools account for 58.35% of the network's total hashrate.
- Hashprice increased to $37.52 per PH/s, with an average block time of 10 minutes 28 seconds. The next difficulty adjustment is expected around May 17.
Bitcoin Adjusts at Block 947520, Difficulty Drops 2.3%
As of Sunday, May 3, 2026, the network's computational power has fluctuated between 899 Exahash per second (EH/s) and 958 EH/s over the past 24 hours. Not long ago, hashrate briefly exceeded 1,000 EH/s (equivalent to 1 ZH/s) but began declining on April 19. When the difficulty adjusted at block height 947520, hashrate stood at approximately 899 EH/s.
The May 1 adjustment is the sixth downward difficulty revision out of nine epochs in 2026. After this change, the current difficulty level is 132.47 trillion, and this level is expected to remain in effect until approximately May 17.
One notable aspect of the latest hashrate decline and difficulty shift is that the network's hashprice rose from a daily average of $34.39 per Petahash per second (PH/s) to $37.52 per PH/s. Miner revenue improved during this period, even as overall hashrate continued to decline from mid-April to the present.
Block intervals have lengthened and remain slightly behind schedule even after the previous epoch adjustment. As of May 3, the average block time was approximately 10 minutes and 28 seconds. If this pace persists, a new downward adjustment could occur on May 17, though it is still too early to draw definitive conclusions.
Miners still have over 1,800 blocks to process before then, so the situation could change significantly. In the past week, 987 blocks were produced, of which Foundry USA mined 311, or 31.51% of the total. Antpool followed closely with about 163 blocks, representing 16.51% of last week's total. Third-ranked ViaBTC identified 102 blocks, securing 10.33% of the network's overall hashrate.
Together, these three mining pools account for 58.35% of the network's total computational power. Meanwhile, data from miningpoolstats.stream shows that 115 distinct entities or pools are currently contributing hashrate to the Bitcoin network.
As the next adjustment window approaches, miners are walking a narrow path: improved hashprice offers some relief, but declining hashrate and slower block times introduce uncertainty.
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With more than 1,800 blocks remaining and conditions still volatile, the network's trajectory through mid-May will depend on whether hashrate stabilizes or continues its gradual decline. Market participants are awaiting clarity on direction.