According to CryptoQuant, the current Bitcoin network difficulty is 88.4 trillion — down from the 92 trillion recorded on Sept. 20, 2024.
Maximizing Bitcoin (BTC) decentralization throughout the entirety of the stack is a matter of national security, Rajiv Khemani, co-founder and CEO of mining chip manufacturer Auradine, told Cointelegraph.
The CEO explained that third-party firmware — which updates and changes over time — could theoretically be used to compromise the energy grid or launch a 51% attack on the Bitcoin network.
Auradine’s CEO outlined a potential situation where malicious code embedded within this firmware could shut down mining operations within a certain geography. This could cause a drop in hashrate and network difficulty, making a 51% attack easier to execute.
