Bitcoin Mining Difficulty Hits Record 136T

Date: September 14, 2025

Bitcoin’s network difficulty hit ~136 trillion after a ~4% upward retarget, the fifth straight increase since June. Hashprice hovers near $51 per PH per day (~$0.051/TH/day), a multimonth low. Hashrate briefly reached the 1 ZH/s seven-day average. A solo miner recently mined a full block through CKPool, collecting the entire block subsidy plus fees. In a low-hashprice regime, power efficiency and fleet refreshes are the highest-leverage moves.

Fuente: Coinwarz.com

The Big Picture

Bitcoin’s network difficulty rose to ~136.04 T in early September and is projected to climb again around September 18. This marks five consecutive increases since June, reflecting sustained hashrate growth despite softer mining economics. Difficulty is on track for another mid-single-digit step-up if blocks continue to arrive faster than the 10-minute target. At the same time, hashprice sits near $51-$52 per PH/day, compressing revenue per unit of hashrate to one of the lowest levels in months. That combination-record difficulty with depressed hashprice squeezes margins for miners with older or less efficient fleets.

Fuente: bitbo.io

By the Numbers

• Dificultad: ~136.04 T now. Next adjustment projected for Sep 18, 2025, with live trackers signaling another increase if block intervals remain sub-10 minutes.
• Tasa de hash: The network seven-day average touched 1 ZH/s for the first time, underscoring industrial-scale buildouts. Additional headlines this week reiterated the
  zettahash milestone.
• Hashprice: ~$51–$52/PH/day on recent prints. Directionally down week over week.
• Block reward: 3.125 BTC per block since the April 2024 halving. Fees vary with
  mempool conditions.

What’s New

Fifth Straight Difficulty Hike

Several data providers recorded the latest step-up to ~136T in early September. Coverage notes this is the fifth consecutive rise since June, driven by additional capacity coming online and improved uptime across large facilities. Live dashboards suggest another upward retarget next week if block times keep running hot.

Solo Miner “Jackpot”

A solo miner using CKPool mined block 910,440 in August and pocketed the full subsidy (3.125 BTC) plus fees, worth roughly $371,000 at the time. Events like this are improbable but possible. This one reignited interest in variance, pool selection, and payout schemes.

Zettahash Threshold

The 1 ZH/s seven-day average is a psychological and technical marker. It reflects years of capex and efficiency gains. Recent reports confirmed the milestone with expectations for continued difficulty pressure.

Why It Matters

• Revenue compression: When difficulty climbs while hashprice flatlines, miners earn fewer dollars per TH. That forces fleet triage: retire inefficient rigs, overclock only where power is cheap and cooling is robust, and redeploy capital into top-tier efficiency.
• Power markets drive outcomes: With the subsidy at 3.125 BTC, breakevens depend more than ever on ¢/kWh, curtailment options, and heat-reuse. Volatile fees can help during bursts of on chain activity but are not guaranteed.
• Scale and uptime win: At ZH-scale, even small availability gains compound. Firms with disciplined maintenance, smart firmware, and dynamic load management will widen the gap.
• Evidence: Difficulty keeps setting highs despite soft hashprice, implying confident deployment by large operators.

Hardware: The Efficiency Race

Vendors continue to push sub-20 J/TH air-cooled performance and even lower under hydro.

Examples:

• Bitmain S21 family: S21+ is listed around 16.5 J/TH at 216 TH/s. Bitmain has showcased S21XP claims near 13.5 J/TH in air-cooled configurations, with hydro variants lower still.
• MicroBT WhatsMiner M60 series: M60S around 18.5-19.2 J/TH at ~186 TH/s. Field and vendor-level write-ups place top bins in the high-teens J/TH range.

Takeaway: In a $0.051/TH/day environment, each 1 J/TH improvement materially shifts breakeven power costs. Many operators now model refresh thresholds not by age but by fleet weighted J/TH versus delivered ¢/kWh and expected hashprice distribution.

Strategy: What Operators Should Do Now

1. Audit fleet efficiency

Rank every unit by J/TH and uptime. Power off the bottom decile first. Consider resale or redeployment to sites with stranded or interruptible power.

2. Renegotiate power

Seek index-linked tariffs, curtailment credits, and seasonal demand response. Align overclock profiles to off-peak.

3. Cooling choices by site

Air for simplicity and capex control, hydro or immersion where density, climate, and tariff justify it. Track failure modes and parasitic load before scaling immersion.

4. Firmware discipline

Use vendor-approved profiles where possible. Aggressive autotuning can backfire if it degrades stability or voids warranties.

5. Pool and payout review

Solo mining is a variance bet. For most, PPS+ or FPPS pools stabilize cash flow and simplify treasury planning. The CKPool event is a reminder of chance, not a strategy.

6. Treasury management

Map BTC holdings and fiat needs to a rolling window. With compressing margins, mistimed liquidations hurt more. Hedge power or hashprice exposure where feasible.

7. Heat reuse and off-take

Explore district heat, greenhouse partners, or industrial pre-heating. Small integrations can shave effective ¢/kWh.

Market Context

Bitcoin’s spot price spent early September near $110k, soft on a weekly basis yet supported by record network security metrics. Price alone will not rescue inefficient fleets if difficulty keeps rising. Operators should model scenarios with flat price and rising difficulty, then layer fee
spikes as upside only.

Risk Factors to Watch

• Next difficulty adjustment on or around Sep 18. Sustained sub-10-minute blocks would push another increase. Track real time.
• Fee environment. Low base fees reduce the variance cushion. Watch mempool congestion drivers like inscriptions or exchange flows.
• Hardware supply. Delivery timelines and PSU availability can delay refresh plans during peak demand.
• Policy and power grids. Local tariff shifts or curtailment rules change economics overnight.

Useful Resources

• Live network stats: Difficulty and adjustment projections.
• Hashprice dashboard: Revenue per PH/TH per day.
• ZH milestone coverage: Industry confirmations and analysis.
• Solo block event details: Latest CKPool win recap.
• Post-halving block reward: Reference explainer.

For alternative-coin profitability and difficulty trends, include a persistent CTA inside your article: “Track real-time metrics for top mineable coins on our Live Coins Data page.” Linkit to your preferred dashboard. For hardware comparisons, add an internal link such as “See our ASIC Rankings for current top performers by efficiency.” Use your canonical URLs.

Editor’s Notes and Corrections

• Block reward is 3.125 BTC, not 6.25 BTC, since the April 2024 halving. If you referenced 6.25 BTC in a prior draft, update it here and in any graphics.
• Dollar amounts tied to solo blocks include fees and depend on spot price at confirmation. The August CKPool case totaled about $371k.

In Short

The industry is hashing at all-time highs while revenue per TH sits near local lows. In this regime, efficiency, power price, and uptime are the decisive levers. Prepare for another difficulty step next week and assume hashprice volatility continues. Refresh the bottom of the fleet, renegotiate power, and keep optionality on cooling and placement. When fees spike, treat it as upside, not baseline.