Manuel Romano/NurPhoto via Getty ImagesAfter China's crackdown on crypto miners, bitcoin mining has become much easier.On Saturday, the bitcoin hash rate (or difficulty level for mining) saw its biggest ever drop.One crypto trader claimed that his mining income increased by 50% after the difficulty adjustment.Subscribe to our daily newsletter 10 Things Before The Opening Bell.As China tightens its crypto operations, bitcoin mining has become more lucrative and easier.According to data from BTC.com on Saturday, the difficulty of mining bitcoin dropped by 28%, marking the biggest drop in network history.The network's algorithm automatically adjusts Bitcoin's hashrate, which is a measure of the computational power required to validate tokens. It is adjusted every two weeks to ensure that miners are productive. It was almost 30% easier for mining systems to complete blocks necessary to create cryptocurrency. This means that more money may be flowing to those who are still online.Scott Melker, a crypto trader, tweeted Monday that his daily mining income jumped 50% following the difficulty adjustment.The "Wolf of All Streets trader stated that the price of #Bitcoin fell over 50% within weeks. China had banned mining which accounts for approximately 60% of the hashrate... the network is unaffected." No bailouts, government assistance or manipulation are required. Only the free market is free.According to Stphane Ouellette, CEO of FRNT Financial and cofounder, the widespread shut down of China's mining facilities, which accounts for around 65% of all activity, it would have likely led to hash-power drops greater that those seen before and increased network congestion.He said that the most notable effect of anti-mining measures in the country may be the acceleration in bitcoin mining outside of China.Ouellette stated that the coin's blockchain had not suffered any adverse effects during a three-month-long period of sustained pressure on BTC mining operations in China. "In fact, in April, the BTC hashrate reached an all-time high."He said that the hash rate had seen declines over the past few months due to sell-offs, which is a pattern for the network in the past.This is due to China's increasing crackdown on mining. They have declared that digital tokens cannot be used for business, and Inner Mongolia has set up a hotline in order to report any outlying cryptocurrency operations that may still exist.Bitcoin traded at $33,500 on Monday, 5% less than it was when it peaked in April. It is still up 15% year to date.Blockchain.comOuellette pointed out another metric, the BTC mempool. This is a "waiting zone" for transactions to get picked up by miners in order to be included into a block.This number has increased over the last few months but is still well below the 2017-2018 highs, which suggests normal network function.Read more: How to mine doge: A TikTok influencer aged 18 shares his method for earning crypto without buying directly via a $700 device - and how it works with other altcoins, including litecoin.
