The 1.4% Increase in Mining Difficulty for Bitcoin Miners Can Starve BTC Supply! BTC to Pass $90,000 Again?

Bitcoin miners are currently facing the heat as rising operational costs, increasing network difficulty, and general economic strain have created a difficult environment. Recently, Bitcoin’s mining difficulty has increased by 1.4%, but the mining hashprice (revenue per petahash per second – PH/s) has continued to hover around $48. This is creating financial distress for older mining rigs like the Antminer S19 XP and S19 Pro, and many of these machines may soon be unprofitable as a consequence. Furthermore, low transaction fees and rising energy prices are making managing the conditions for miners all the more complicated, syndicating the decision for many miners to remain shut down until conditions improve or they can upgrade machines.

A Rough Start to 2025 for Bitcoin Miners

Since the halving of Bitcoin in April 2024 to a block reward of 3.125 BTC, the viability of blockchain mining companies has been tenuous. Publicly traded mining companies suffered a 22% share price decline in February 2025, according to JPMorgan. Even miners that pivoted to artificial intelligence or high-performance computing in an effort to diversify face pressure, as cheap open-source AI models take market share. 

How This Could Impact Bitcoin’s Price

The mining industry’s struggles could have a negative impact on Bitcoin’s price both in the short term and long run. As miners begin shutting down unprofitable machines, there may be increased selling pressure in the short term as they liquidate Bitcoin in order to cover losses, leading to volatility in the price. In the long term, a decreasing amount of active miners will slow down BTC supply growth, which may be bullish. Given all of this, technical analysis can shed the most light on where Bitcoin likely go next. We will take a look at the key support and resistance levels to get a better understanding of where BTC may be headed next. 

Price Analysis and BTC Price Prediction

The trading session on March 23 began within a tight trading range, with Bitcoin edging its way higher while also showing limited volatility. Initially, the indicators MACD and RSI offered little directional insight. However, at around 10:30 UTC, the emergence of a golden cross indicated that a bullish breakout was underway, resulting in a swift price increase that pushed BTC out of its range. Currently, the current key support and resistance level stands at $84635 and $86175 respectively. 

Chart 1, Analyzed by Alokravantmedia published on March 24, 2025.

As Bitcoin moved up into a new trading range with solid bullish momentum, buyers’ eyes at the new resistance level, while sellers made attempts to push back in critical spots like 11:50 UTC and 17:25 UTC, aligning with a death cross and RSI overbought conditions. However, the bullish momentum prevailed, guiding Bitcoin into an uptrend channel. As the new trading day approached on March 24, continued buying pressure resulted in another attempt to break out.

Data indicated attempts of increased selling pressure of initial resistance followed by a brief correction directed by RSI overbought conditions together with another death cross at 00:50 UTC. Again, the buyers prevailed in sustaining momentum, allowing the market to break out and develop a bullish history.

Bitcoin’s Path Forward: Short-Term Volatility or Long-Term Growth?

Bitcoin miners are currently facing a difficult environment – rising costs of operation and increasing network difficulty are only a couple of factors increasing pressure on their profitability. As a result, the sector is experiencing a paradigm shift where unprofitable miners may need to sell their holdings, thus creating some fluctuations in the market. Nevertheless, declining mining operations could restrict the long-term BTC supply growth and create a possibility for a bullish reversal.

From a technical standpoint, Bitcoin exhibited a strong bullish sentiment by breaking out of its previous trading range and preserving its bullish stance despite brief corrections. Moreover, the significant buying pressure at critical resistance levels indicates that BTC may very well continue its ascent. The BTC price prediction indicates that traders should monitor confirmation from signals like MACD and RSI to ascertain the subsequent course of action.