A ferocious U.S. winter storm knocked Bitcoin’s mining power to a seven‑month low over the weekend, underscoring that the network’s real‑world infrastructure still answers to weather and grid constraints — not just market moves. Heavy snow, ice and sub‑zero temperatures swept across more than three dozen states and left roughly one million customers without power, AccuWeather reported. CoinWarz data show Bitcoin’s hashrate — the network’s total computing power measured in exahashes per second (EH/s) — began sliding on Friday and “plunged sharply” over the weekend to about 663 EH/s by Sunday. That represented a drop of more than 40% in just two days. The network partially recovered by Monday, climbing back to roughly 854 EH/s. Oregon miner Abundant Mines described the disruption as “significant,” estimating that roughly 40% of global Bitcoin mining capacity went offline in a 24‑hour window as operators throttled or shut down rigs to relieve strained grids. The move was largely voluntary: many facilities curtailed output as electricity demand spiked — a reaction industry participants say highlights mining’s role as a flexible load on power systems. Hashrate Index and a 2024 Energy Information Administration report underscore the U.S.’s outsized influence here: U.S. operations now account for nearly 38% of global hashrate and host at least 137 dedicated crypto‑mining facilities. Proponents argue the episode bolsters the argument that miners can help stabilize grids. Mining farms can soak up excess renewable output during low‑demand periods and, crucially, can shut down rapidly when demand surges. Bitcoin ESG researcher Daniel Batten noted on X that demand‑response activity from miners helped relieve pressure on the Texas grid during the storm, freeing capacity for households and critical infrastructure. The disruption in mining capacity came amid relatively calm crypto markets. Bitcoin traded near $88,261 — up modestly from about $86,567 24 hours earlier — while Ether was around $2,923 (up ~0.3%) and Solana near $124.30 (up ~1.4%). For miners, the weekend served as a reminder that profitability and network security are tightly linked to physical factors like weather and grid health, not just price charts. Read more AI-generated news on: undefined/news

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