Bitcoin Miner Revenue Drops 9.44% Following Network Difficulty Jump

Bitcoin mining difficulty increased 3.12% on May 15 at block height 949536, reaching 136.61 trillion. This was the first upward adjustment in more than a month and the fourth difficulty increase of 2026, also among the largest so far this year. Hashrateindex data showed hashprice fell from $38.97 per PH per day on May 14 to $35.29 four days later, while miner revenue declined 9.44%. Fees contributed only 0.59% of rewards, leaving mining economics closely tied to BTC price trends. Bitcoin traded around $76,680 on May 18 after retreating from above $82,000 on May 14. A difficulty decline is possible at the next epoch around May 29, with block intervals moving slightly slower.

"Bitcoin difficulty hit 136.61T on May 15 as miner revenue fell 9.44%. Hashrateindex.com data shows PH/s value slid from $38.97 to $35.29 in 4 days. Bitcoin fees made up just 0.59% of rewards, keeping focus on BTC price trends. Although the previous week offered miners a more favorable stretch, conditions have tightened considerably over the last four days."

"The network difficulty climbed on May 15 at block height 949536, marking the first upward adjustment in more than a month, or two full epochs. The 3.12% increase lifted the difficulty rating from 132.47 trillion to the current 136.61 trillion. It also marked the fourth difficulty increase of 2026 and the third largest adjustment recorded so far this year."

"Bitcoin's mining difficulty reaching 136.61 trillion means the network is now approximately 136.61 trillion times more difficult to mine a block than it was when Satoshi Nakamoto first launched Bitcoin in 2009. Yet the difficulty adjustment is far from the only pressure weighing on bitcoin mining participants. The strain has intensified over the last four days following the latest difficulty epoch increase, as revenue tied to hashprice continues to thin."

"In simple terms, hashprice represents the estimated daily value of 1 PH/s of hashing power. Data recorded by hashrateindex.com shows hashprice stood at $38.97 on May 14. Since then, as mining difficulty climbed, bitcoin miners are now earning 9.44% less, with a single petahash currently valued at roughly $35.29 per day. This comes as bitcoin retreated from an intraday high above $82,000 on May 14 and now changes hands at $76,680 per coin as of 3 p.m. ET on Monday afternoon, May 18."

Read at news.bitcoin.com