Winter Storm Forces US Bitcoin Miners to Cut Operations and Hashrate

Winter Storm Impacts Bitcoin Hashrate: US Miners Reduce Operations

Several Bitcoin mining pools in the United States have significantly reduced their operations due to extreme winter weather that has heavily strained the power grids. An arctic cold wave brought sub-zero temperatures to large parts of the United States, leading to a notable decrease in Bitcoin hashrate.

According to TheMinerMag, two major Bitcoin mining pools serving North America collectively reduced their hashrate by more than 110 exahashes per second (EH/s) in late January 2026. Foundry USA, the world's largest Bitcoin mining pool, experienced a sharp decline in its hashrate, dropping from nearly 340 EH/s to about 242 EH/s by the end of last week. Luxor also reported a decrease, with its hashrate falling from approximately 45 EH/s to 26 EH/s. Smaller reductions were noted at Antpool and Binance Pool, with these values continuing to decline.

“The Bitcoin hashrate at Foundry USA alone has decreased by nearly 200 EH/s or 60% since Friday, as the reductions continue. The block production currently stands at twelve minutes,” reported TheMinerMag.

Data from the Hashrate Index indicates that Foundry still controls approximately 163.5 EH/s of computing power, which accounts for about 22.59% of the total Bitcoin network hashrate. Luxor's share has dropped to 3.01%, with a hashrate of about 21.9 EH/s. The widespread decline in hashrate coincided with a severe arctic cold front, which brought significant snowfall, ice, and extreme cold, leading to a surge in heating demand. Power grids in several states were strained, prompting operators to call for power conservation.

According to BBC reports, the winter storm has claimed at least three lives and left hundreds of thousands of households without power. Schools and roads were closed across the country, and many flights were canceled due to "life-threatening" conditions from Texas to New England.

Matthew Sigel, head of digital assets research at VanEck, highlighted the role miners can play in alleviating power grid stress during extreme weather events. He stated, “It is tragic that over 1 million people in the US are without power due to the winter storm. Some public Bitcoin miners have significant capacities in or near affected regions. Some, like CLSK, RIOT, BTDR, and others, are structured to act as flexible consumers through demand-response programs like those with the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA).”

The decline in hashrate occurred while miners' reserves continued to dwindle. According to data from CryptoQuant, Bitcoin holdings of miners fell to their lowest level since 2010 in January 2026, indicating significant financial pressure on the industry. Low Bitcoin prices and rising energy costs are squeezing profits, forcing many miners to reconsider their business models. For instance, Bitfarms is now investing more in artificial intelligence and high-performance computing.

Overall, the situation for miners remains challenging. Electricity prices reached a record high of 18.07 cents per kilowatt-hour in September 2025, which is 10.5% higher than in January. BeInCrypto reported on an emergency power auction plan from President Trump's administration, which aims to create $15 billion in new power production through long-term, technology-driven contracts. This plan could provide long-term assistance once new capacities become available, but it will take time for the benefits to be felt. In the meantime, miners must secure affordable access to power and actively participate in demand-response programs to survive.

Key Takeaways:

• US Bitcoin mining pools have reduced operations due to extreme winter weather.
• Foundry USA's hashrate dropped from nearly 340 EH/s to about 242 EH/s.
• Luxor's hashrate decreased from approximately 45 EH/s to 26 EH/s.
• Electricity prices reached a record high of 18.07 cents per kilowatt-hour in September 2025.
• Miners' Bitcoin reserves fell to the lowest level since 2010, indicating financial strain.

Sources:

• Wintersturm drückt Bitcoin-Hashrate: US-Miner fahren Betrieb herunter
• Wintersturm legt 110 EH/s der US‑Bitcoin‑Mining‑Leistung lahm