A major winter storm in the US has led to a significant drop in Bitcoin mining activity, causing the cryptocurrency’s hash rate to drop by 10%, as operators limit electricity use to ease pressure on overburdened power grids.
Hashrate is the amount of computing power available to process transactions required to keep the Bitcoin blockchain running at any given time. When the hash rate drops sharply, the network has less space to process transactions, increasing the risk of delays before the difficulty resets.
Winter Storm Fernan has inundated large parts of the US, amid extreme cold, snow, ice and freezing rain, straining power grids and leaving more than 1 million residents without power in several states. The decision comes from grid operators who issue nature conservation warnings.
As a result, major Bitcoin miners had to shut down operations or be taken offline, leading to one of the sharpest short-term declines in US hardware in recent years.
It’s snowing in America and that’s why the blockchain is a bit slower.
The snowstorm in the US is forcing some US-based Bitcoin miners to turn OFF their machines… and the Bitcoin hashrate is down almost 40% since three days ago.
Pay attention to your safety! pic.twitter.com/tSuhzpJbDB
— Arkham (@arkham) January 26, 2026
For example, Foundry USA, the largest bitcoin mining pool by hashrate, accounting for about 23% of the global mining pool, has seen its computing power drop by about 60%, down from a recent peak of nearly 328 exahashes per second to about 139 EH/s.
A need arises for flexible Bitcoin power needs
Due to the ongoing winter storm, an estimated 200 EH/s have gone offline across the Bitcoin network, pushing the average Bitcoin block time above the protocol’s 10-minute target, according to Mempool data. The average block times decreased towards 12 minutes.
Such a significant decline reflects the growing pattern of bitcoin miners acting as flexible, interruptible loads during periods of extreme weather.
Because the closures were expected and temporary, pressure on reimbursements remained limited. For the Bitcoin network, the slowdown remains mechanical rather than structural.
Despite the sharp decline, Bitcoin’s price showed little immediate response to the storm. Over the weekend, BTC’s price briefly fell below $86,500, triggering a broader pullback that erased gains earlier in the week when prices hit $97,000.
However, Bitcoin has recovered and is trading above $88,000, now at $88,217 as of 2:00 AM EST.
Related news:
Best Wallet – Diversify Your Crypto Portfolio
- Easy-to-use, feature-driven crypto wallet
- Get early access to upcoming token ICOs
- Multi-chain, multi-wallet, non-custodial
- Now in the App Store, Google Play
- Stake to earn native token $BEST
- 250,000+ monthly active users
#Bitcoin #Hash #Rate #Drops #Winter #Storm