Bitcoin Hashrate Falls During US Winter Storm

[umair]

Over a recent weekend, Bitcoin’s network hashrate experienced a sharp and temporary decline, dropping to levels last seen in mid-2025 after a powerful winter storm in the United States forced many mining operations to reduce power usage to help stabilize regional electrical grids.

Data from CoinWarz shows that Bitcoin’s hashrate began to fall on Friday and by Sunday had plunged to roughly 663 exahashes per second (EH/s). This represented a decline of more than 40% over just two days, bringing computational power on the network down to its lowest in about seven months. By Monday, hashrate had partially recovered, rising to around 854 EH/s as conditions improved.

The extreme weather event affected more than three dozen U.S. states, leading to widespread snow, ice accumulation, and significant power outages. According to weather data, nearly one million energy customers were impacted as utilities prioritized demand on critical residential and essential infrastructure.

Major mining companies responded to grid stress by reducing electricity consumption. One miner, Abundant Mines, reported that roughly 40% of global Bitcoin mining capacity temporarily went offline at the peak of the storm, illustrating how extreme weather can substantially affect mining operations.

The United States plays a particularly influential role in Bitcoin mining, contributing nearly 38% of global hashrate. This high concentration meant that the regional disruption had outsized effects on the global network’s computational power.

Industry observers noted that the rapid reduction in hashrate also highlighted Bitcoin mining’s value as a flexible power load—one that can be dialed down quickly to ease stress on electricity grids during peak demand events.

Although mining output temporarily slowed and some firms saw drops in daily Bitcoin production, analysts emphasized that the network remained resilient, with hashrate rebounding as weather conditions improved and operations resumed.