A winter storm in the United States has put fresh pressure on Bitcoin mining. As grid operators issued conservation and load warnings, multiple miners shut down or cut operations, taking an estimated 200 EH/s of hash rate offline for a period. Foundry USA, one of the world’s largest mining pools, saw its hash rate fall sharply from recent highs, dropping by about 60% at one stage.
The storm brought extreme cold, snow, and ice across several states, leaving more than 1 million customers without power. In response to grid stress, many mining sites reduced electricity use voluntarily, and some halted operations entirely. The effect showed up quickly on-chain. Bitcoin block production slowed as hash power disappeared from the network.
Mining pools weaken as block times move above target
Pool-level data suggests the decline was broad rather than isolated. Alongside Foundry USA, another major North American pool, Luxor, also posted a notable drop, pointing to a wider response from miners dealing with strained power conditions.
With a large portion of mining capacity offline, Bitcoin’s average block interval moved above its normal 10-minute target. On-chain data showed block times stretching to more than 12 minutes at one point, which slowed transaction confirmations in the short term. Based on that shift, the next mining difficulty adjustment could see a sizable downward revision.
Bitcoin’s built-in adjustment system remains intact
Even with the visible decline in hash rate, the network is still operating within its normal design. Bitcoin adjusts mining difficulty when hash power stays away from its usual level for long enough, allowing the protocol to rebalance block production over time.
That means slower blocks in the near term do not automatically point to a security problem. As weather conditions improve and miners reconnect, hash rate can recover and block production can move back toward its usual pace.
Storm response puts miners’ grid role back in focus
The episode also renews attention on how miners fit into power systems. According to the report, more large mining operations have joined demand response programs in recent years, giving them the ability to cut load quickly during periods of heavy stress and, in some cases, return power to the grid in exchange for compensation or energy credits.
Compared with the 2021 Texas winter storm, crypto mining sites are now more integrated into grid balancing frameworks and are increasingly treated as flexible loads. In extreme weather, that flexibility can turn miners into a buffer for the electricity system. The report also notes an open question: as some mining firms shift toward artificial intelligence and high-performance computing businesses that depend on steadier power, it remains unclear whether the same level of load flexibility will hold in future grid stress events.