Every miner knows the feeling: The Bitcoin price is stable, the hardware is running perfectly, but at the end of the month, fewer Satoshis land in the account than the month before. Why is that? The culprit is usually the Mining Difficulty.
But what exactly is it, and why does it exist?
The 10-Minute Rule
Satoshi Nakamoto, the creator of Bitcoin, programmed a golden rule: On average, a new block should be found every 10 minutes. Not faster, not slower.
- If only a single laptop worldwide were mining, the puzzle would be extremely easy so that it could solve it in 10 minutes.
- If millions of supercomputers (ASICs) mine simultaneously, they would solve the puzzle in milliseconds. Then all Bitcoins would be mined in a few days.
The Automatic Adjustment
To keep the 10-minute rhythm, the Bitcoin network adjusts the difficulty every 2016 blocks (approximately every two weeks).
- Scenario A: Many new miners (like you!) join the network. The global hashrate rises. Blocks are found too quickly (e.g., every 8 minutes).
->Result: The difficulty increases. The puzzle becomes harder. - Scenario B: The Bitcoin price crashes. Many miners turn off their machines because electricity is too expensive. Blocks take too long (e.g., 12 minutes).
->Result: The difficulty decreases. The puzzle becomes easier.
What Does This Mean for Your Profits?
For you as a miner at Gokby, difficulty is the main antagonist.
Imagine the entire Bitcoin pie (the block reward) is always the same size. The difficulty determines how many pieces this pie must be divided into.
If the difficulty rises by 5%, it roughly means you earn 5% less Bitcoin—assuming your own hashrate stays the same.
This is why miners constantly have to upgrade. Anyone mining with an Antminer S9 (an old device) today gets almost nothing because the difficulty is far too high for that old machine.
Can I Predict the Difficulty?
Yes and no. There are websites that analyze current hashrate and estimate what the next adjustment in 2 weeks will look like.
- Tip: If you plan to buy new hardware, always calculate that difficulty will rise by approx. 2-5% monthly. Do not calculate the next 12 months based on today's revenue!
Conclusion
Mining difficulty is the heartbeat of Bitcoin. It ensures stability and security. As a miner, you must accept: Your income in BTC will almost always decrease over time. Your goal is for the value of these Bitcoins (in USD or EUR) to rise faster than the quantity drops—or for your hardware to be efficient enough to stay in the race.
