A number of 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 components of the USA.
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Arctic Climate Triggers Sharp Bitcoin Hashrate Pullback
In accordance to TheMinerMag, 2 main Bitcoin mining swimming pools serving North America collectively reduce 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 had been noticed at Antpool and Binance Pool as nicely. These figures have since fallen additional.
“Bitcoin hashrate on FoundryUSA alone is down by nearly 200 EH/s, or 60%, since Friday amid continued curtailment. Temporary block production has slowed down to 12 minutes,” TheMinerMag wrote.
Knowledge from the Hashrate Index reveals that Foundry nonetheless controls roughly 163.5 EH/s of hashing energy. It accounts for about 22.59% of the full Bitcoin community hashrate. Luxor’s share stands at 3.01%, with its hashrate falling to roughly 21.9 EH/s.
Bitcoin Mining Swimming pools. Supply: Hashrate Index
The widespread decline in hashrate coincides with a extreme Arctic freeze that has introduced snow, ice, and excessive chilly, sharply rising heating demand. Energy grids in a number of states got here below pressure, prompting operators to problem conservation requests.
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In line with the BBC, the winter storm has left no less than three individuals lifeless and knocked out energy to lots of of hundreds of properties. Faculties and roads had been closed nationwide, and flights had been canceled as “life-threatening” circumstances stretched from Texas to New England.
In a submit on X (previously Twitter), Matthew Sigel, Head of digital belongings analysis at VanEck, pointed to the position Bitcoin miners can play in easing grid pressure throughout excessive climate occasions.
“Tragic that 1M+ Americans are without power due to the winter storm impacting the eastern US. Some public bitcoin miners have meaningful capacity in or near affected regions, and several such as CLSK, RIOT, BTDR and others are structurally set up to act as flexible loads via utility demand response programs, including the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA). We do not yet have confirmation of real time curtailments for this storm, but the model has already proven its value when conditions tighten,” he wrote.
Resulting from excessive winter storms within the U.S., a number of mining farms throughout the nation have skilled energy outages. Bitcoin’s complete hashrate dropped by roughly 30% in a brief interval, a lower of about 260 EH/s. Roughly 1.3 million mining rigs have been shut down as they… pic.twitter.com/75DniLUDh8
— Leon Lyu (@LeonLyuLv) January 26, 2026
The hashrate downturn additionally comes amid a sustained drawdown in miner reserves. In line with CryptoQuant knowledge, 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 sources towards synthetic intelligence and high-performance computing.
In the meantime, the broader outlook for miners stays difficult. Electrical energy costs reached a document 18.07 cents per kilowatt-hour in September 2025, up 10.5% since January.
BeInCrypto reported an emergency energy public sale plan from President Trump’s administration, set so as to add $15 billion in new technology by means of tech-backed, long-term contracts.
The plan could supply long-term reduction as new capability comes on-line, although the advantages will take time to materialize. Within the interim, miners should give attention to inexpensive entry to energy and energetic participation in demand response to outlive.
