Crypto Journalist
Amin Ayan
Crypto Journalist
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Bitcoin mining activity has suffered its biggest setback in more than four years after severe winter storms in the United States forced large operators to reduce production, dragging down the network’s hashrate, production and revenue.
Key takeaways:
- Winter storms in the US forced miners offline, causing a 12% drop in the Bitcoin network hashrate.
- Mining revenues and production fell sharply as power outages affected major operators.
- The slowdown marks the steepest production drop since the post-halving period in 2024.
The network’s total hash rate has fallen approximately 12% since November 11, marking the steepest drop since October 2021, when the network was still stabilizing after China’s broad mining ban.
Data from CryptoQuant shows that the hashrate now sits near 970 exahashes per second, its lowest level since September 2025.
US winter storms force miners offline, deepening hashrate decline
The decline accelerated this week when extreme cold disrupted power supplies in several mining centers in the United States.
Publicly traded miners temporarily shut down machines to protect infrastructure and comply with network reduction requests, amplifying a slowdown that had already begun when Bitcoin retreated from its all-time high of $126,000 toward the $100,000 level late last year.
The impact of the hashrate quickly spread to the mining economy. Daily Bitcoin mining revenue fell from around $45 million on January 22 to a yearly low of around $28 million just two days later.
Although revenue has since recovered modestly to around $34 million, it remains well below recent averages, reflecting both lower network activity and weaker pricing.
Production data points to an equally pronounced contraction. The output of the largest publicly traded miners fell from about 77 Bitcoin per day to just 28 Bitcoin during the same period.
Other miners’ production decreased from approximately 403 bitcoins to 209 bitcoins, significantly reducing the network’s total production.
Over a period of 30 consecutive days, publicly traded miners recorded a 48 Bitcoin drop in production, the steepest drop since May 2024, shortly after the most recent halving event.
Production by private miners fell by 215 Bitcoin, the largest decline since July 2024, underscoring the broad impact of the disruption.
Bitcoin Miner Profitability Hits Lowest Level Since November 2024
Profitability has deteriorated along with the decline in production. CryptoQuant’s Miner Profit and Loss Sustainability Index has fallen to 21, its lowest reading since November 2024.
The level indicates deep stress across the sector as revenues fail to cover operating costs for an increasing proportion of the network, despite multiple downward adjustments to difficulties in recent times.
While mining difficulties have eased as machines have been taken offline, the relief has not been enough to offset falling prices and operational disruptions related to the extreme weather.
If the hashrate remains depressed, further difficulty cuts could occur in the coming weeks, offering some margin relief to traders who remain online.
According to a recent analysis by independent researcher Daniel Batten, Bitcoin mining can strengthen power grids and reduce electricity costs for consumers rather than overloading electrical systems.
Their research challenges common claims that mining destabilizes grids or drives up energy prices, drawing on peer-reviewed studies and operational data to argue that the industry’s flexible use of energy can provide measurable benefits to the system.