Winter Storm Pressure Sends Bitcoin Hashrate Lower as Major US Pools Pull Back
Several US-based Bitcoin (BTC) mining swimming pools have curtailed operations in response to excessive winter climate that strained electrical energy grids throughout the nation.
The reductions got here as an Arctic chilly snap introduced subfreezing temperatures throughout massive elements of the United States.
Arctic Weather Triggers Sharp Bitcoin Hashrate Pullback
According to TheMinerMag, 2 main Bitcoin mining pools serving North America collectively lower over 110 exahashes per second (EH/s) of hashrate in late January 2026.
Foundry USA, the world’s largest Bitcoin mining pool, noticed a pointy drop in hashrate. It fell from almost 340 EH/s to round 242 EH/s late final week.
Luxor additionally recorded a decline, with its hashrate sliding from roughly 45 EH/s to 26 EH/s. Smaller pullbacks have been noticed at Antpool and Binance Pool as effectively. These figures have since fallen additional.
“Bitcoin hashrate on FoundryUSA alone is down by almost 200 EH/s, or 60%, since Friday amid continued curtailment. Temporary block manufacturing has slowed all the way down to 12 minutes,” TheMinerMag wrote.
Data from the Hashrate Index reveals that Foundry nonetheless controls approximately 163.5 EH/s of hashing energy. It accounts for about 22.59% of the whole Bitcoin community hashrate. Luxor’s share stands at 3.01%, with its hashrate falling to roughly 21.9 EH/s.
The widespread decline in hashrate coincides with a extreme Arctic freeze that has introduced snow, ice, and excessive chilly, sharply rising heating demand. Power grids in a number of states got here underneath pressure, prompting operators to issue conservation requests.
According to the BBC, the winter storm has left at the very least three folks useless and knocked out energy to lots of of 1000’s of properties. Schools and roads have been closed nationwide, and flights have been canceled as “life-threatening” circumstances stretched from Texas to New England.
In a put up on X (previously Twitter), Matthew Sigel, Head of digital property analysis at VanEck, pointed to the position Bitcoin miners can play in easing grid pressure throughout excessive climate occasions.
“Tragic that 1M+ Americans are with out energy as a result of winter storm impacting the jap US. Some public bitcoin miners have significant capability in or close to affected areas, and a number of other such as CLSK, RIOT, BTDR and others are structurally set as much as act as versatile hundreds by way of utility demand response packages, together with the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA). We don’t but have affirmation of actual time curtailments for this storm, however the mannequin has already confirmed its worth when circumstances tighten,” he wrote.
The hashrate downturn additionally comes amid a sustained drawdown in miner reserves. According to CryptoQuant information, Bitcoin miner holdings fell to their lowest stage since 2010 in January 2026, highlighting the mounting monetary stress throughout the sector.
Subdued Bitcoin costs and rising power prices are squeezing margins, pushing many miners towards unprofitable territory. In response, some operators are reassessing their enterprise fashions. Bitfarms, for instance, has begun reallocating assets towards synthetic intelligence and high-performance computing.
Meanwhile, the broader outlook for miners stays difficult. Electricity costs reached a document 18.07 cents per kilowatt-hour in September 2025, up 10.5% since January.
BeInCrypto reported an emergency power public sale plan from President Trump’s administration, set so as to add $15 billion in new era via tech-backed, long-term contracts.
The plan might supply long-term reduction as new capability comes on-line, although the advantages will take time to materialize. In the interim, miners should deal with reasonably priced entry to energy and energetic participation in demand response to outlive.
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