Since January 23, the hashrate of the largest mining pool, Foundry USA, has decreased by 60%. Data center operators in the United States are shutting down equipment en masse due to severe weather conditions.
According to TheMinerMag, the pool’s total power has dropped by nearly 200 EH/s. Despite the decline, Foundry USA maintains around 198 EH/s — 22% of the global total.
At the peak of restrictions, the interval between Bitcoin network block mining exceeded 12 minutes. The current forecast suggests that the next recalculation will result in a ~5% decrease in mining difficulty.
The shutdowns were caused by the winter storm “Fern.” Extreme weather affected the Southeast, Northeast, and parts of the Midwest in the United States. Miners are forced to reduce consumption to relieve the load on urban grids. Other pools have also been affected.
Mining companies act as a balancing force for the power system. During peak demand or emergencies, they shut down installations, redirecting electricity to households and critical infrastructure.
According to The Weather Channel, the storm stretched nearly 3,000 km. More than 1 million U.S. residents were left without power due to icing and snowfalls.
Back in February 2025, rising electricity prices in the U.S. due to a temperature drop in the south led to a decrease in Bitcoin mining difficulty and a drop in cryptocurrency miners’ revenues.
