Bitcoin mining difficulty jumps +5.92%: PPS per PH/s resets 5.59% lower

16 Oct 2026 · 3 Oct – 16 Oct 2026 · data as of 16 Oct 2026, 14:29 UTC

Bitcoin mining difficulty rose +5.92% at block 971,712 (16 Oct 2026, 12:37 UTC), from 132.72 T to 140.58 T: the largest increase since 27 Jun 2026 (+7.15%).
The closed epoch ran one block every 9 min 27 s: 2,016 blocks in 13.22 days, 152.5 blocks a day against the 144 target.
For 1 PH/s, PPS falls 5.59%, from 0.00047368 to 0.00044719 BTC per day (2,649 sats less for 1 PH/s), and stays at this level for 2,016 blocks, until the next reset at block 973,728 (around 30 Oct 2026 if blocks average 10 minutes).
Fees stayed thin: 35.78 BTC over the epoch, 0.57% on top of the subsidy, down from 44.97 BTC (0.71%) in the prior epoch.
If transaction fees stay at a similar level, FPPS would pay about 0.00044972 BTC per PH/s per day, with a variance of −51 / +55 sats (0.00044921–0.00045027 BTC).

Key figures

	from 3 Oct	from 16 Oct	Change
Hashrate (10-min, EH/s)	950.0	1,006.3	+5.92%
Difficulty	132.72 T	140.58 T	+5.92%
PPS, BTC/PH/s/day	0.00047368	0.00044719	−5.59%
FPPS*, BTC/PH/s/day	0.00047637	0.00044972	−5.59%

*FPPS at the closed epoch's fee level; range 44,921–45,027 sats per PH/s per day. All figures before pool fees.

What changed at block 971,712

Bitcoin mining difficulty resets every 2,016 blocks, so that blocks arrive on average every 10 minutes. The epoch that ended at block 971,711 took 13.22 days instead of the 14-day target, so the protocol raised difficulty by the ratio of target time to actual time: +5.92%. BMM's node records the new difficulty as 140.58 T, up from 132.72 T. The previous adjustment, on 3 Oct 2026, was −0.03%.

What it means for 1 PH/s

PPS (Pay-Per-Share) pays only the expected share of the block subsidy (3.125 BTC per block), so between halvings it depends on difficulty and nothing else. A higher difficulty means each PH/s finds proportionally fewer blocks: PPS per PH/s falls by 5.59%, from 0.00047368 to 0.00044719 BTC a day (47,368 to 44,719 sats). That level holds for the whole new epoch.

FPPS (Full Pay-Per-Share) adds the network's transaction fees on top of the subsidy. In the closed epoch fees averaged 0.57% on top of the subsidy (ranging 0.45%–0.69% over its full UTC days). At that level FPPS would pay about 0.00044972 BTC per PH/s per day, with an implied range of 0.00044921–0.00045027 BTC. These are not a forecast, and all figures are before pool fees.

The closed epoch in numbers

Blocks 969,696 to 971,711 ran from 3 Oct 2026, 07:16 UTC to 16 Oct 2026, 12:29 UTC. Over its 12 full UTC days, block counts ranged from 139 (8 Oct) to 177 (5 Oct); the first and last days of the epoch were partial and are left out. Fees averaged 0.57% on top of the subsidy, lowest 0.45% (10 Oct) and highest 0.69% (8 Oct). The 152.5 blocks a day correspond to an average network hashrate of about 1,006 EH/s (BMM calculation from block times and difficulty).

Compared with the prior epoch (ended 3 Oct)

Blocks 967,680–969,695 took 14.00 days (143.9 blocks a day) and paid 44.97 BTC in fees (0.71% on top of the subsidy). The epoch closed on 16 Oct produced 6.0% more blocks per day and 20.4% less in fees for the same 2,016-block period.

Blocks and fees per UTC day

UTC day	Blocks	vs 144	Fees, BTC	Fees, % of subsidy
3 Oct (part)	85	-59	2.41	0.91%
4 Oct	143	-1	2.33	0.52%
5 Oct	177	+33	2.72	0.49%
6 Oct	155	+11	2.53	0.52%
7 Oct	154	+10	2.59	0.54%
8 Oct	139	-5	3.00	0.69%
9 Oct	146	+2	3.10	0.68%
10 Oct	155	+11	2.19	0.45%
11 Oct	156	+12	2.36	0.48%
12 Oct	152	+8	2.86	0.60%
13 Oct	163	+19	2.68	0.53%
14 Oct	161	+17	2.52	0.50%
15 Oct	154	+10	3.30	0.69%
16 Oct (part)	76	-68	1.18	0.50%

First and last days of the epoch are partial and left out of the full-day ranges.

Charts on the live dashboard

Data and method

Data: BMM's own Bitcoin node (Bitcoin Core), every block of the epoch; times in UTC. PPS = 3.125 BTC × 86,400 × 10¹⁵ ÷ (difficulty × 2³²), per PH/s per day. FPPS = PPS × (1 + fees ÷ subsidy). Blocks per day = (blocks − 1) ÷ time between the first and last block. Fees are shown as % of the block subsidy, which is also how much FPPS pays above PPS (as a share of total block revenue the closed epoch was 0.56%). Hashrate in the key-figures table is the hashrate each difficulty is set for at 10-minute blocks (difficulty × 2³² ÷ 600 s). Data as of 16 Oct 2026, 14:29 UTC.

PPLNS is not included: its payouts depend on each pool's luck and share window, so no single figure applies. All figures are before pool fees. No USD figures are used. FPPS figures are illustrations at the closed epoch's fee level, not forecasts. This note is for information only and is not investment advice.