Bitcoin miners may get a break at the next difficulty adjustment. Projections point to a 6.4% to 7.8% drop, with some estimates near 7% to 8%. That would be the largest cut since June. The change is expected around Nov. 13, 2026. Difficulty is now 148.36 trillion after a 5.54% increase on Oct. 29.
Why the network is slowing down
The cause is not complicated. Bitcoin wants a block about every 10 minutes. In the current period, blocks have averaged between 10 minutes 46 seconds and 10 minutes 50 seconds. Late blocks push the automatic adjustment lower. Hashrate has also been uneven. After a summer slump, it climbed back above 1 ZH/s in October. November looks more cautious. Seven-day averages have ranged from 963 to 1,069 EH/s, so the network has hovered around and sometimes below 1 ZH/s. For reference, 1 ZH/s equals 1,000 EH/s.
October gains and a record still out of reach
The expected cut follows a busy October. Two sharp increases raised difficulty by a combined 11.8%. That run brought the network close to its all-time high of 155.97T, set in October 2025. The current level is about 4.9% below that peak. Difficulty has now stayed below its record for more than 374 days. A lower adjustment would widen that gap again. June cut difficulty by 10.09%, so the coming move would be steep but not as steep as that summer drop.
Miners, revenue, and what to watch
Miners are the clearest beneficiaries. Lower difficulty gives each machine a better chance to win blocks. The same hardware can produce more Bitcoin for roughly the same power bill. The revenue picture adds context. Miner revenue reached about $1.215 billion in October, the highest monthly total since November 2025. So the cut is not arriving in a crisis. It comes after a strong month and a softer start to November. Seasonal energy curtailments can still pull machines offline, and hashprice has moved around $33 to $35 per petahash per day. Bitcoin has traded between $75,000 and $77,000.
The self-correcting system looks at every 2,016 blocks and resets difficulty to keep block times near 10 minutes. There is no vote or committee. That is why projections can be made days ahead.
From here, watch whether the final cut lands near the low or high end of the 6.4% to 7.8% range. Watch hashrate after the change. A quick return above 1 ZH/s would suggest miners want to chase easier conditions, perhaps setting up another increase. And watch the 155.97T record. Reclaiming it would say a lot about miner appetite at current prices.
