Bitcoin mining difficulty plummets 11%, its biggest drop since China's mining ban.
Bitcoin (BTC) network mining difficulty fell 11.1%, the largest drop since China's sweeping mining ban in 2021. Furthermore, the US recently approved the establishment of its first cryptocurrency-focused bank under President Trump, and China sent a strong signal to the market by announcing a new ban on unregulated stablecoins and real-asset-backed tokens (RWAs).
According to cryptocurrency data platform CoinWarz, the Bitcoin network's current mining difficulty is 125.86T, a decrease of 11.1% over the past 24 hours. This represents the largest single adjustment period since the introduction of the automatic difficulty adjustment system. Recently, the block generation speed has shortened from an average of over 11 minutes to approximately 9 minutes and 28 seconds.
The next mining difficulty adjustment, on February 20th, is expected to rebound to 132.9T. This sharp decline is due to two factors: the recent Bitcoin price plunge of more than half, which has worsened mining profitability; and the severe winter weather that hit the United States, which hit power infrastructure and temporarily reduced miners' hashrate.
The Trump administration granted a national banking license to cryptocurrency-friendly bank Erebor.
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), part of the U.S. Treasury Department, has granted a national banking charter to a cryptocurrency startup for the first time during President Trump's second term. The new financial institution, Erebor Bank, will provide customized financial services to startups, venture-backed companies, and high-net-worth individuals, with an initial capital of approximately $635 million, according to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ).
Erebor Bank was founded by Oculus co-founder Palmer Luckey, who sits on the board of directors but is not involved in day-to-day operations. It is also backed by major Silicon Valley technology investors, including Andreessen Horowitz, Founders Fund, Lux Capital, 8VC, and Elad Gil. It is also aimed at filling the so-called "innovation finance gap" following the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank in 2023.
China bans yuan-pegged stablecoins and RWAs.
Eight financial regulators, including the People's Bank of China (PBoC), jointly announced a ban on the issuance of yuan-pegged stablecoins and real-asset-backed tokens (RWAs) without regulatory approval. This ban applies to all individuals and entities both inside and outside China, including stablecoins issued offshore, effectively blocking the circulation of yuan-backed cryptocurrencies.
The statement warned that "issuing or trading digital assets pegged to the Chinese yuan without explicit prior approval from the regulator may be illegal." This measure marks the first official regulatory mention of RWAs, effectively incorporating the "tokenization" technique—converting real-world assets into digital tokens for circulation—into China's financial risk management system.
Chinese authorities view these measures as necessary for the controlled expansion of the "digital yuan (e-CNY)," citing the threat unauthorized digital assets pose to the stability of the country's financial system and consumer protection. This essentially reflects a policy stance aimed at excluding privately issued cryptocurrencies and accelerating the transition to a state-run digital currency system.
These three key issues simultaneously highlight the conflicting trends in regulation, infrastructure, and ecosystem expansion in the global cryptocurrency market. Bitcoin's mining structure is sensitive to environmental and market shocks, and the United States and China are pursuing institutionalization of cryptocurrency finance from different directions.
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Bitcoin mining difficulty plummeted by over 11%, the US officially approved cryptocurrency-focused banks, and China banned the issuance of private stablecoins and RWAs.
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This article was summarized using a TokenPost.ai-based language model. Key points in the text may be omitted or inaccurate.
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