The latest adjustment saw a 3.6% decrease in the challenging task of mining for bitcoin.

The difficulty level of Bitcoin mining decreased by 3.59% in Tuesday morning's adjustment in Asia, a drop that has been attributed to some US mining companies shutting down due to winter storms and ongoing financial issues caused by low Bitcoin prices and high energy costs. The mining difficulty reading, which reflects the amount of computing power required to verify blocks on the blockchain in exchange for Bitcoin rewards, was recorded at 34.09 trillion at block height 770,112 in Tuesday's biweekly adjustment. This reading is almost 40% higher than the reading on January 8th of last year, which was at 24.37 trillion. The difficulty of Bitcoin mining adjusts roughly every two weeks.

In addition to the drop in mining difficulty, the seven-day average hashrate, a measure of the computational power used by miners, also saw a decrease. The average hashrate was at around 256.7 exahashes per second on Monday, down from a seven-day average of 245.1 exahashes on December 19th, according to data from Blockchain.com. This decrease in hashrate could be the result of the unplugging of some mining operations due to the winter storms and financial issues faced by the industry.

The current state of the Bitcoin mining industry is a far cry from where it was just a few months ago. In November , the price of Bitcoin reached an all-time high of over $67,000, but has since fallen 75% to trade at around $16,695 on Tuesday noon in Asia, according to data from CoinMarketCap. The profitability rate of Bitcoin mining, which reflects the earnings of miners in relation to the computational power they are using, has also dropped significantly. The profitability rate was $0.058 per terahash per second in the past 24 hours, down from $0.233 from a year ago, according to data from BitInfoCharts.

The drop in Bitcoin's price and the decrease in mining profitability has had a ripple effect on the industry, leading to the unplugging of some mining operations and the consolidation of others. Many US-based miners were forced to shut down their facilities last month due to the winter storms, and the financial struggles of the industry have led to the consolidation of mining operations as smaller players struggle to stay afloat.

The current state of the Bitcoin mining industry is a reminder of the cyclical nature of the crypto market. Just a few months ago, Bitcoin was on a meteoric rise and the mining industry was booming. Now, with the price of Bitcoin down significantly and the profitability of mining operations reduced, the industry is facing tough times. However, this is not the first time the industry has faced challenges, and it is likely that it will bounce back in the future as the market recovers.

Despite the current difficulties faced by the Bitcoin mining industry, it is important to remember that the underlying technology of blockchain and Bitcoin remains strong and has the potential to revolutionize a wide range of industries. While the price of Bitcoin and the profitability of mining operations may fluctuate, the long-term potential of the technology should not be underestimated. As the market recovers and the mining industry stabilizes, it is likely that we will see the emergence of new players and the further development of the industry.