US Winter Storm Causes Significant Dip in Bitcoin Hashrate
By: Eliza Bennet
Over the past weekend, an intense winter storm sweeping across the United States led to a substantial yet temporary decline in Bitcoin’s network hashrate. The storm affected over three dozen states, bringing with it severe snow, ice, and power outages that impacted about one million energy customers. As a result, numerous Bitcoin mining operators were compelled to reduce their operations significantly, causing the network's hashrate to plummet.
According to data from Hashrate Index and CoinWarz, the global hashrate, which is predominantly contributed by the United States accounting for about 38% of worldwide mining power, dropped to 663 exahashes per second last Sunday. This figure represents a dramatic 40% decrease over two days, marking the lowest level observed in the past seven months. The decrease was primarily induced by miners who intentionally curtailed their activities to alleviate the strain on local grids that were overwhelmed due to the adverse weather conditions.
Major mining firms like Abundant Mines, headquartered in Oregon, reported significant power-offs across various locations as miners swiftly adjusted their power consumption in response to the spike in energy demand and consumption drop. This rapid scaling back is feasible since miners can power off and restart their equipment flexibly, which enables them to act as a large, adjustable energy load that can be modulated as needed.
The broader impact of the storm on Bitcoin was quickly felt in the market, with Bitcoin's price fluctuating in response to the news. Traders watched closely as the situation developed, aware of the potential implications for short-term revenue among miners. Despite the temporary decline in hashrate, the market demonstrated resilience, and as weather conditions began to stabilize, mining operations resumed, and the hashrate recovered towards 854 EH/s. For more on Bitcoin mining and current market trends, see resources such as CoinGecko.
