Bitcoin’s mining difficulty has recorded a second consecutive downward adjustment, falling 2.3% on May 1 after a 2.43% decline on April 17. The latest move reflects a broader cooling in network computing power, with total hashrate now running below the symbolic 1 zettahash per second (ZH/s) threshold. The adjustment took place at block height 947,520, bringing Bitcoin’s difficulty to 132.47 trillion.
The decline is notable because it marks the sixth difficulty reduction in 2026 across nine adjustment epochs cited in the report. Difficulty changes are designed to keep Bitcoin’s block production near its 10-minute target, rising when miners add more computing power and falling when hashrate weakens. In this case, the latest reset suggests the network has been operating below the pace needed to maintain that target.
Hashrate Retreats From Recent Highs
According to the source material, Bitcoin’s hashrate fluctuated between roughly 899 exahash per second (EH/s) and 958 EH/s over the previous 24 hours as of May 3. Not long before that, the network had briefly climbed above 1,000 EH/s, the equivalent of 1 ZH/s, but computing power began trending lower after April 19. At the moment of the latest difficulty adjustment, hashrate was reported at around 899 EH/s.
This retreat in raw computing power matters because it directly affects how quickly the network can discover new blocks. If fewer machines are competing to solve Bitcoin’s proof-of-work puzzles, the average time between blocks tends to drift above the intended schedule until the protocol recalibrates. That is exactly what the most recent data appears to show.
Slower Block Times Point to Another Possible Downward Move
Bitcoin’s average block interval on May 3 was about 10 minutes and 28 seconds, modestly slower than the protocol’s 10-minute design target. While this deviation is not extreme, it is enough to keep market participants focused on the next adjustment window, expected around May 17. If current conditions persist, another downward difficulty revision could be on the table.
Still, the outlook is not settled. The report notes that miners must process more than 1,800 blocks before the next adjustment. That leaves plenty of room for network conditions to change. A rebound in hashrate could tighten block times and alter the adjustment path, while continued weakness could reinforce the case for another reduction.
For now, the network appears to be in a transitional phase: hashrate has softened, blocks are taking longer to arrive, and the protocol has already responded by easing difficulty. Whether that easing continues will depend largely on miner participation over the coming days.
Hashprice Improves Even as Network Power Declines
One of the more important details in the report is that miner economics have not weakened uniformly. Despite the slide in hashrate and the slower production rate, Bitcoin’s hashprice — a metric that estimates the expected daily revenue earned per unit of computing power — rose from $34.39 per PH/s to $37.52 per PH/s.
That increase suggests miners received at least some short-term relief on the revenue side, even as the network’s total computational strength moved lower. In practical terms, a higher hashprice can improve margins for miners who remain online, especially when difficulty falls and competition for block rewards eases somewhat. However, stronger unit economics do not automatically reverse broader hashrate declines, particularly if operators are still managing energy costs, capital constraints, or strategic shifts in infrastructure deployment.
The contrast between declining aggregate hashrate and improving hashprice highlights the mixed signals currently facing the mining industry. On one hand, the protocol is becoming a bit easier to mine; on the other, the total amount of hardware participating in the network remains below recent highs.
Three Mining Pools Account for More Than Half of Weekly Output
The report also provides a snapshot of mining pool distribution over the past seven days. During that period, Bitcoin produced 987 blocks. Foundry USA mined 311 blocks, giving it a 31.51% share of the total. Antpool followed with about 163 blocks, equal to 16.51%, while ViaBTC found 102 blocks, accounting for 10.33%.
Combined, those three pools represented 58.35% of the network’s total hashrate, underscoring the continued concentration of mining power among a handful of major operators. At the same time, data cited from miningpoolstats.stream shows that 115 distinct entities or pools are currently contributing computing power to Bitcoin. That means participation is broad in count, but still weighted heavily toward the largest pools by actual output share.
Pool concentration remains a closely watched aspect of Bitcoin mining because it speaks to the structure of block production. Although miners can change pools and the underlying hardware ownership may be more distributed than pool-level data suggests, headline concentration metrics still matter to observers tracking decentralization trends.
What the Market Is Watching Next
Heading into the next adjustment window, miners are navigating a narrow path. The recent rise in hashprice offers a meaningful cushion, but that benefit is being offset by weaker overall hashrate and slower block intervals. The central question for the near term is whether computing power stabilizes above current levels or continues its gradual decline.
If hashrate recovers, Bitcoin could move back toward its 10-minute target without needing another large difficulty cut. If it does not, the protocol may once again lower difficulty to compensate. Either way, the current setup shows how quickly mining conditions can shift: network power, profitability, and block timing are all moving parts, and each influences the others.
For investors, miners, and infrastructure watchers, the next several days may provide more clarity. With over 1,800 blocks still to be mined before the next scheduled reset, the trend has not yet been locked in. Until then, Bitcoin’s network remains in a balancing act between improved miner revenue metrics and a noticeable cooling in raw computational strength.