Bitcoin Mining Faces Record Period of Stagnant Difficulty

The Bitcoin mining industry is experiencing an unusual period of weakness. Network difficulty remains below the 156 trillion peak recorded in October 2025. Current levels hover around 148 trillion, representing a 5% decline from the all-time high.

This period without a new record has surpassed the previous 364-day streak observed between 2011 and 2012. At that time, the asset price suffered a sharp drop. The current landscape differs from 2021, when China's ban forced a global migration of computing power.

Experts point out that the issue is structural and tied to the halving. The periodic reduction in block rewards requires constant price appreciation to maintain profitability. Opportunity costs have risen significantly due to the demand for artificial intelligence infrastructure.

Companies in the sector now face direct competition for cheap energy and data center space. The technology sector offers more attractive returns for these essential resources. Core Scientific exemplifies this transition by planning a full exit from Bitcoin mining to focus on high-performance computing.

This shift in capital and energy allocation suggests a permanent reconfiguration of the ecosystem. Migrating infrastructure to the artificial intelligence sector may reduce network security or alter the geographic distribution of miners.