Bitcoin difficulty −9.1% on 14 November: home miner

Bitcoin difficulty dropped 9.13% on 14 November 2026 at 05:02 UTC, from 148.36 T to 134.82 T (T stands for 10¹²). That is the biggest drop since 14 June 2026 (−10.09%) and a good deal more than the −7.11% we gave as an interim estimate on 10 November. At the same price, a home miner earns 10.0% more bitcoin per day, but the price has since fallen 8.5%. In euros, almost none of the gain is left.

Bitcoin difficulty on 14 November in short

• What happened: at block 975,744 the network adjusted difficulty, from 148.36 T to 134.82 T. That is −9.13% (measured from the block data on mempool.space).
• When: according to the block’s timestamp, on 14 November 2026 at 05:02:50 UTC. In our article of 10 November the adjustment was expected on 13 November around 21:12 UTC: almost eight hours earlier than it actually came.
• Why so large: the 2,016 blocks of this period arrived on average every 11 minutes and 0 seconds instead of every 10 minutes. So less computing was done than the difficulty expected.
• What it brings: at an unchanged price, a miner earns 10.0% more satoshis per day (148.36 ÷ 134.82 = 1.1004).
• The catch: the price is 60,385 euros on 14 November, against 66,000 euros on 10 November. In euros per month, the adjustment is worth about one cent for a Bitaxe Gamma.
• What is next: mempool.space’s estimate for the next adjustment is −5.56% at the time of writing, around 28 November 23:52 UTC. That is an early estimate and moves with every block.

What exactly is going on?

Difficulty determines how much work a miner has to do, on average, to find a valid block. The network adjusts it every 2,016 blocks, aiming for one block every ten minutes, so fourteen days per period. If blocks come more slowly, difficulty goes down; if they come faster, it goes up.

The period that ended on 14 November began on 29 October 2026 at 19:14:58 UTC (block 973,728). Up to block 975,744 it lasted 15 days, 9 hours and 47 minutes, whereas fourteen days was the target. That is 1,331,272 seconds for 2,016 blocks, an average of 660 seconds per block. This is our own calculation, based on the timestamps of those two blocks.

The data on hashrate itself is rough. The daily values from mempool.space (in ZH/s, zettahash, 10²¹ hashes per second) were around 0.83 on 9 and 10 November, around 0.98 on 11 and 12 November and 0.90 on 13 November. For 14 November it shows 0.81, but that day was not over at the time of writing. A single daily value says little; the pace of the blocks is the measure the network itself uses.

Note that the estimate was well off this time. On 3 November we gave −3.65% and on 10 November −7.11%; the result was −9.13%. The estimate moves with the pace of the blocks, and that pace slowed even further in the last days of the period. So for the next adjustment, too, count on a range, not a single number. After the drop, difficulty stands at 134.82 T, 1.6% above the 132.72 T of the period that began on 3 October.

What does a home miner earn after 14 November?

The yield follows from a fixed formula: bitcoin per day = hashrate (in H/s) × 86,400 × block reward ÷ (difficulty × 2³²). With a block reward of 3.125 bitcoin, 1 TH/s comes to 42.37 satoshis per day at the old difficulty of 148.36 T and 46.63 satoshis at 134.82 T. Transaction fees hardly count: in the 144 blocks from 975,662 up to and including 975,805, 0.93% of what miners received was transaction fees (4.21 of 454.21 bitcoin).

Below are the same three devices as in our article on buying a Bitaxe at three shops, with the hashrate and power as the shops stated them there. It is a worked example, not a promise: it assumes an unchanged price and 30 days per month. The “before” column uses 148.36 T and 66,000 euros per bitcoin (the price of 10 November), the “after” column 134.82 T and 60,385 euros (mempool.space, 14 November 2026, 14:10 UTC).

So the number of satoshis goes up by 10.0%, but the bitcoin itself has become 8.5% less valuable (60,385 ÷ 66,000 = 0.915). Together that leaves 0.7%: a few cents per month.

What you keep depends on your electricity price. The threshold above which you make a loss is the daily yield divided by the kWh the device uses per day:

That puts the threshold for a Gamma lower than the €0.109 we gave on 10 November at −7.11% and a price of 66,000 euros: the price has fallen harder than difficulty since then. An example: after the adjustment the Gamma earns €1.10 per 30 days and uses 10.8 kWh. At €0.25 per kWh that electricity costs €2.70, so you are €1.60 down. Only below roughly €0.102 per kWh does it pay off, and that is still without counting the purchase price. That €0.25 is an assumption, not a measured price; fill in your own tariff. More on what a home miner earns can be found in Mining Bitcoin at home in 2026. Which devices are for sale, you can find at home miners and Bitaxe devices.

Solo mining with a device like this remains a lottery: the chance of a block is small and the outcome is all or nothing. The comparison with renting hashrate is in Rent hashrate or buy a Bitaxe? The sums for 2026.

What does this mean for you as a European investor?

If you already have a miner. Look at your electricity price per kWh and compare it with the break-even price in the table. The power the shop states is an indication; measure it yourself with a plug-in power meter. You can follow difficulty yourself on mempool.space.

If you are considering a miner. Calculate with the difficulty of the next period, not just the current one. Difficulty has gone both up and down this year, and a 9% drop can be gone again within two weeks if hashrate returns. With €1.10 to €6.76 per 30 days, before electricity costs, a purchase price of tens to hundreds of euros is not quickly earned back.

Electricity prices differ per country. In the EU, consumer tariffs vary widely. Look up your own tariff on your energy bill and calculate with the price per kWh including tax and VAT.

Tax. What you have to declare on mined bitcoin differs per country and is not covered in this article. See crypto tax in Europe.

What is not certain yet

• The next adjustment. −5.56% is an estimate from mempool.space at the time of writing, with 1,955 blocks still to go. The previous estimate (−7.11%) was well over two percentage points off the result (−9.13%). The result is only settled once block 977,760 has been found.
• Why there was less hashrate. Difficulty shows that blocks came more slowly, not why. We have not established that cause in the sources.
• The price. The tables assume 60,385 euros per bitcoin. A different price changes the euros, not the satoshis.
• Your device’s power draw. In October the shops gave different figures for the same chip. Measured consumption deviates from the stated figure. We have not rechecked these specifications with the shops for this article; they come from our article of 14 October.

This article is not investment advice. Crypto can lose a lot of value and you can lose your entire investment.

Frequently asked questions

How much has bitcoin difficulty dropped on 14 November?

By 9.13%, from 148.36 T to 134.82 T, at block 975,744 on 14 November 2026 at 05:02 UTC.

When is the next bitcoin difficulty adjustment?

According to mempool.space’s estimate at the time of writing, around 28 November 2026, 23:52 UTC, at block 977,760. The expected change is −5.56%, but it moves with the pace of the blocks.

Does my Bitaxe earn more now that difficulty is falling?

In satoshis, yes: 10.0% more per day at the same hashrate. In euros, hardly, because the price fell 8.5% between 10 and 14 November. By our calculation, a Bitaxe Gamma earns €1.10 per 30 days.

Is mining bitcoin at home still worth it?

That depends on your electricity price. With a 15 W Bitaxe Gamma the break-even is roughly €0.102 per kWh, at a difficulty of 134.82 T and a price of 60,385 euros. Above that you lose money on electricity alone.

Sources

Read on 14 November 2026.

• mempool.space: adjustment at block 975,744 (14 November 2026, 05:02 UTC) and earlier adjustments
• mempool.space: estimate of the next adjustment (as of 14 November 2026, 14:10 UTC)
• mempool.space: hashrate, last week (as of 14 November 2026)
• mempool.space: block reward and transaction fees, last 144 blocks (block 975,662 up to and including 975,805)
• mempool.space: bitcoin price (14 November 2026, 14:10 UTC)
• Cryptocode: Bitcoin difficulty 13 November, estimate −7.11% (10 November 2026)
• Cryptocode: Buying a Bitaxe, three shops with hashrate and power as stated by the shops (14 October 2026)