Bitcoin mining activity has suffered its sharpest setback in more than four years after severe winter storms across the United States forced large operators to scale back production, dragging down network hashrate, output and revenues.
Key Takeaways:
- US winter storms forced miners offline, driving a 12% drop in Bitcoin’s network hashrate.
- Mining revenues and output fell sharply as power disruptions hit major operators.
- The slowdown marks the steepest production decline since the post-halving period in 2024.
Total network hashrate has fallen by roughly 12% since Nov. 11, marking the steepest drawdown since October 2021, when the network was still stabilizing after China’s sweeping mining ban.
Data from CryptoQuant shows the hashrate now sits near 970 exahashes per second, its lowest level since September 2025.
US Winter Storms Force Miners Offline, Deepening Hashrate Slump
The decline accelerated this week as extreme cold disrupted power supply in several US mining hubs.
Publicly listed miners temporarily shut down machines to protect infrastructure and comply with grid curtailment requests, amplifying a slowdown that had already begun as Bitcoin retreated from its $126,000 all-time high toward the $100,000 level late last year.
The hashrate shock quickly fed through to miner economics. Daily Bitcoin mining revenue slid from around $45 million on Jan. 22 to a yearly low near $28 million just two days later.
Although revenue has since recovered modestly to about $34 million, it remains well below recent averages, reflecting both reduced network activity and weaker prices.
Production data points to an equally sharp contraction. Output from the largest publicly traded miners fell from roughly 77 Bitcoin per day to just 28 Bitcoin over the same period.
Production from other miners declined from about 403 bitcoin to 209 bitcoin, pulling total network output sharply lower.
Looking at a 30-day rolling basis, publicly listed miners recorded a 48-Bitcoin drop in production, the steepest decline since May 2024, shortly after the most recent halving event.
Output from privately held miners fell by 215 Bitcoin, the largest decrease since July 2024, underscoring the broad impact of the disruption.
Bitcoin Miner Profitability Hits Lowest Level Since November 2024
Profitability has deteriorated alongside falling output. CryptoQuant’s Miner Profit and Loss Sustainability Index has dropped to 21, its lowest reading since November 2024.
The level signals deep stress across the sector, with revenues failing to cover operating costs for a growing share of the network, despite multiple downward difficulty adjustments over recent epochs.
While mining difficulty has eased as machines went offline, the relief has not been sufficient to offset declining prices and operational disruptions tied to extreme weather.
If hashrate remains depressed, further difficulty cuts could follow in the coming weeks, offering some margin relief to operators that remain online.
According to a recent analysis by independent researcher Daniel Batten, Bitcoin mining can strengthen electrical grids and lower consumer electricity costs rather than strain power systems.
His 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 power usage can provide measurable system benefits.
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