What Is the “Difficulty Adjustment” in Bitcoin Mining?
The difficulty adjustment is a mechanism in the Bitcoin protocol that automatically recalibrates the complexity of the mining puzzle. This adjustment occurs every 2,016 blocks, which is approximately every two weeks.
Its purpose is to maintain a consistent average block time of roughly 10 minutes, regardless of changes in the total computational power (hash rate) of the network. If the hash rate increases, the difficulty increases, and vice versa.
Glossar
Target Block Time
Block ⎊ The target block time, within cryptocurrency contexts, represents the anticipated duration between successive blocks added to a blockchain.
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.
Average Block Time
Metric ⎊ Average Block Time is the mean duration required for a Proof-of-Work or Proof-of-Stake network to successfully validate and append a new block to the canonical chain, serving as a primary indicator of network throughput and transaction finality speed.
Computational Power
Capacity ⎊ The computational power, within the context of cryptocurrency derivatives and options trading, fundamentally represents the aggregate processing capability available to execute complex calculations and simulations.
Network Hash Rate
Security ⎊ Network hash rate represents the collective computational power dedicated to a proof-of-work blockchain, directly influencing the cost and feasibility of malicious attacks.
Bitcoin Difficulty Adjustment
Adjustment ⎊ The Bitcoin Difficulty Adjustment is a core mechanism within the Bitcoin protocol designed to maintain a consistent block generation rate, nominally 10 minutes, irrespective of fluctuations in network hashrate.