# Bitcoin difficultly and hash rate are both at all time highs!

As of right now, it's never been harder to mine bitcoin.

Both the hash rate and difficultly levels have never been higher.

The hash rate very much seems to be tied to prices right now...

Any kind of positive price action and it shoots up, negative price action and it heads back down.

With the latest positive price action, the total hash rate is again making new highs:

https://i.postimg.cc/L5nGNFYT/0bee4939ab25249dcaa7494e77210775.png

(Source: https://cointelegraph.com/news/its-never-been-harder-to-mine-bitcoin-as-hash-rate-hits-new-highs)

As you can see, there does seem to be a correlation between price and hash rate.

# Miners trying to collect all they can before the halving?

People were taking note of the declining or sideways hash rate from a few weeks back and showing a bit of concern.

Not anymore.

They were mostly talking about how it was likely miners capitulating and throwing in the towel as prices drifted ever lower.

Their capitulation adding to the sell pressure and was going to take prices to extremely low levels.

It appears that the $7k-$7.5K is a very sensitive area as it relates to miners.

If we drift to the bottom of that range or go lower, miners are being forced to shut off the machines as evidenced by a drop in hash rate.

However, with the recent positive price action like we've seen for the past few days, the machines appear to have been turned right back on.

# It's never been "harder" to mine bitcoin than right now...

After a brief pause in difficulty levels, we are right back to new all time highs:

https://i.postimg.cc/qRt9GdCG/3c457c7796f46363c0763a25d3aca062.png

(Source: https://cointelegraph.com/news/its-never-been-harder-to-mine-bitcoin-as-hash-rate-hits-new-highs)

It will be interesting to see what happens to the hash rate and difficulty numbers once this next halving takes place

If miners are having trouble keeping the machines running at that $7k price point with the current block reward, what are they going to do when that reward gets cut in half?

They either need a price of 2x higher than that (about $14k) and/or a dramatic drop in difficulty, which has been few and far between.

With the halving now less than 4 months away, things are likely going to get very interesting around here.

Stay informed my friends.

-Doc