First Mover: Bitcoin Just Got Easier to Mine, but for How Long?

Bitcoin’s mining “difficulty” has undergone its first adjustment since last week’s halving, dropping the figure by 6%.

Mining difficulty is part of an automatic procedure that takes place on the Bitcoin blockchain every 2,016 data blocks, or roughly every two weeks. The mechanism is supposed to help keep the blockchain network humming along steadily: When computational power flags, the difficulty of finding new bitcoins automatically adjusts downward, helping to restore miners’ profitability and encouraging them to crank their machines back up.  

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That’s what happened on Tuesday when the mechanism automatically responded to the…