Bitcoin mining difficulty has been on an uptrend throughout the year, except for a few minor exceptions. But last week, it took a drop of 7%, the biggest drop of 2019 as it went from 13.69 trillion on Nov. 6 to 12.72 trillion on Nov. 10.

Bitcoin difficulty chart, Source: Bitinfocharts

The biggest drop ever seen was in quarter 3 of 2018 when Bitcoin difficulty fell 31.5%, going from 7.45 trillion in early Oct. to 5.10 trillion in late Dec. The decline coincided with a similar downtrend in BTC price that crashed from $6,550 to $3,200.

Bitcoin difficulty has been on the rise ever since until now. After hitting the all-time high at 13.7 trillion, mining difficulty took a drop.

However, this hasn’t been an unusual occurrence as noted by popular analyst PlanB as stated in their tweet,

Last -7% btc difficulty adjustment is not unusual

The chart shows 5 earlier situations (blue):
– 2013, 2016, 2017 during a bull market
– 2015, 2018 after an ATH marking the bottom of the bear
h/t @PrestonPysh

Hard to say what's next, but a positive next adjustment is bullish🚀 pic.twitter.com/HV9xYQZROg

— PlanB (@100trillionUSD) November 11, 2019

Similar drops were seen previously in 2013, 2016 and 2017 during the bull market and in 2015 and 2018 after hitting an ATH marking the bottom of the bear market.

As such, “a positive next adjustment is bullish,” said PlanB.

PlanB’s comment came in response to cryptocurrency commentator Alistair Milne questioning if an adjustment at this point of the cycle is “unusual.”

“Seems to confirm the cost of mining (on average) is ~$8000,” summed up Milne.

Currently, Bitcoin price is trading at $8,740 with 24 hours loss of more than 1%, as per Coincodex.

Bitcoin Hash Rate Back to 100 Th/s Level

Meanwhile, the Bitcoin hash rate is making recovery.

Just like with mining difficulty, the hash rate has been on the rise after bottoming out in Dec. following the price. On Oct. 23, it hit an ATH at 110.6 Th/s. The hash rate then took a drop to 82.2 Th/s on Nov. 9 but is back around 100 Th/s.

Bitcoin hash rate, Source: Bitinfocharts

In the world of mining, a piece of bullish news came when China decided to push the Bitcoin mining out of its list of industries to be eliminated, just after six months putting it in the list.

In other news, the UK-based Argo Blockchain recently brought 500 new Antminer rigs from the mining giant Bitmain. The firm that currently has 7,000 miners is planning to increase this number to 17,000 by the end of Q1 2020.

Bitmain meanwhile has opened what it claims to be the “world’s largest” bitcoin mining facility in Texas.

Mining companies seems to be bullish on the future profitability of the industry as another significant player of the market Cannan Creative is expected to conduct its IPO this month after recording about $100 million in revenue this year.