Recent data from the Bitcoin network shows that the mining difficulty has increased by 4% as the mining hashrate gets closer to its all-time high. The mining hashrate refers to the total computing power connected to the Bitcoin blockchain, which helps improve network security.

An increase in the hashrate means that the network is more secure, as attackers would need to control a majority of mining rigs to perform a successful attack. However, if the new power is centralized, the network's security may not improve as much.

The hashrate also indicates the demand for mining cryptocurrency. An increase in the hashrate shows that miners find the network attractive, while a decrease suggests that some miners are disconnecting due to unprofitability.

Recent data shows that the 7-day average Bitcoin mining hashrate has increased, approaching its ATH value from earlier this year. Miners are expanding their facilities after previously reducing their activities.

Even though an increase in the hashrate means increased security, it also means tougher competition among miners. Block rewards are fixed in BTC value, so an increase in the hashrate decreases the share of rewards for individual miners unless they also increase their computing power.

The Bitcoin network has a "difficulty" feature to counteract the effects of increased hashrate. When miners add more power, the network increases the difficulty, making it harder to solve blocks. This ensures that the block time stays relatively constant, regardless of changes in computing power.

After the recent hashrate increase, the difficulty has also gone up in the latest biweekly adjustment on the chain. Despite these changes, Bitcoin's value has increased by 3% over the past week, trading at $69,700 at the time of writing.