Bitcoin’s network hashrate fell to a seven-month low over the weekend after a severe winter storm swept across the United States and disrupted power supply. The hashrate dropped as miners curtailed operations to support strained electricity grids during widespread snow and ice.
Data shows the decline began Friday and deepened through Sunday as weather conditions worsened across large regions.
According to AccuWeather, the storm affected three dozen states and caused snow, ice, and outages for nearly one million energy customers. As conditions deteriorated, miners shut down equipment to reduce power consumption and ease pressure on regional grids. By Sunday, Bitcoin’s hashrate had fallen to 663 exahashes per second, marking a drop of more than 40% in two days.
By Monday, the network began to recover as conditions improved and power demand stabilized. Hashrate climbed back to around 854 exahashes per second, indicating miners had started restoring operations. The rebound followed gradual improvements in grid stability across affected areas.
The Oregon-based miner Abundant Mines reported that nearly 40% of global Bitcoin mining capacity went offline within 24 hours due to extreme winter weather. The company said miners reduced activity to relieve stress on power systems and protect critical infrastructure. It described this ability to scale operations as a core feature of Bitcoin mining.
Since January 23, the hashrate of Foundry USA, the largest mining pool, has dropped by 60%. TheMinerMag reported the pool lost nearly 200 exahashes per second of power during the storm period. Despite the reduction, Foundry USA still controlled about 198 exahashes per second, or 22% of the global total.
Data centre operators across the United States shut down mining equipment en masse as temperatures plunged. Miners reduced consumption to redirect electricity toward homes, hospitals, and essential services. Other mining pools also experienced similar disruptions during the storm.
During peak shutdowns, Bitcoin block intervals stretched to 12 minutes as computing power fell. Longer block times slowed transaction processing across the network during the weekend. Forecasts now point to a possible 5% decline in mining difficulty at the next recalculation.
The shutdowns followed the arrival of winter storm Fern, which struck the Southeast, Northeast, and parts of the Midwest. The Weather Channel reported the storm spanned nearly 3000 kilometres and left over one million residents without power. Urban grids faced heavy strain as heating demand rose sharply.
Miners operate as flexible power market participants because they can modify their electricity consumption during emergency situations. The system operates at full capacity during peak periods and returns to operation when the electricity supply reaches sufficient levels, which happens near wind and solar energy facilities. The power grid system responds to extreme weather conditions through demand response programs used by Bitcoin mining operations.
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Earlier in February 2025, falling temperatures in the southern US drove electricity prices higher and reduced mining difficulty. That period also cut miner revenues as operations scaled back during the cold spell. More recently, CryptoQuant analyst Julio Moreno said storm conditions slowed daily Bitcoin output for major US miners.
Marathon Digital Holdings mined seven Bitcoin during the storm after producing 45 the previous day. IREN also reduced output from 18 Bitcoin to six as conditions worsened. These figures reflect how weather-driven power constraints directly affect Bitcoin production.
A severe winter storm pushed US Bitcoin miners offline and drove the Bitcoin hashrate to a seven-month low. Power grid strain forced widespread shutdowns while block times slowed. As conditions improved the network began to recover. The episode shows how mining activity quickly responds to energy stress.