How Often Does Bitcoin’s Difficulty Adjustment Occur and Why?
Bitcoin's difficulty adjustment occurs approximately every 2,016 blocks. Since the network aims for a block to be found every 10 minutes, this corresponds to roughly every two weeks.
The adjustment is necessary to maintain the 10-minute block time average, regardless of the total hashing power entering or leaving the network. If blocks are found too fast, difficulty increases; if too slow, it decreases.
Glossar
Difficulty Adjustment
Mechanism ⎊ Difficulty adjustment is a crucial mechanism in proof-of-work PoW blockchain networks, particularly Bitcoin, that automatically recalibrates the computational effort required to mine a new block.
Total Hashing Power
Capacity ⎊ Total hashing power represents the aggregate computational capacity dedicated by all miners to solving the cryptographic puzzle of a Proof-of-Work blockchain at any given moment.
Block Time
Epoch ⎊ Within cryptocurrency and decentralized finance, epoch refers to a discrete time interval during which specific operations or consensus mechanisms are executed.