**[Bitcoin Mining Difficulty Experiences Two Double-Digit Adjustments in 2026]** Odaily Planet Daily reports that Bitcoin's mining difficulty automatically adjusts every 2016 blocks to maintain an average block time of approximately 10 minutes. If blocks are produced faster than planned, the difficulty increases in the next cycle; if slower, the difficulty decreases. In February 2026, Winter Storm Fern caused major mining companies in key mining regions like Texas, USA, to shut down their equipment. Bitcoin's hash rate dropped from a previous peak of nearly 1.13 ZH/s to approximately 663 EH/s. On February 7, Bitcoin's mining difficulty decreased by 11.16%. Subsequently, miners resumed operations, and the hash rate rebounded to nearly 1 ZH/s. On February 19, the network difficulty increased by 14.7%, reaching 144.4 trillion, marking the largest percentage increase since 2021. On June 13, Bitcoin's mining difficulty decreased again by approximately 9.91%. At that time, Bitcoin's price had dropped by about 15%, prompting some publicly listed mining companies to redirect mining rigs and data center capacity toward AI and high-performance computing workloads. As of late July, early data for the next difficulty adjustment indicated a potential decrease of approximately 1.2%. (Source: bitcoin.com)