Reporting · markets
Bitcoin mining difficulty sits about 5% below its October 2025 record
Difficulty stands just over 148 trillion, while Core Scientific plans to exit Bitcoin mining entirely by year-end.
Quick take
- Bitcoin mining difficulty has dropped about 5% below its October 2025 record, now just over 148 trillion.
- Core Scientific plans to leave Bitcoin mining entirely by year-end after cutting nearly half its fleet.
- Ammous blames halvings and the opportunity cost of AI, a shift that matters to anyone following the network's mining economics.
CryptoPotato reported that Bitcoin mining difficulty has slipped below the record it reached on October 29, 2025, when it touched near 156 trillion. At press time the figure was just over 148 trillion, about 5% under that peak. The outlet also put the previous longest stretch of that kind at about 364 days, spanning 2011 and 2012.
Saifedean Ammous blames the trend on halvings and on the opportunity cost tied to AI. Core Scientific plans to exit Bitcoin mining completely by year-end. It has already cut its mining fleet by almost half, and its colocation revenue reached $215.4 million in the third quarter.
Colocation revenue, the figures indicate, rose 58% quarter over quarter, even as the mining business itself is being wound down. Difficulty remains about 5% below its October 2025 peak, a gap that marks how far network difficulty has moved since late 2025.
Sources
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