In a remarkable turn of events, the Bitcoin mining landscape is shaken as extreme winter weather strikes the United States. Foundry USA, the world’s largest Bitcoin mining pool, has experienced a dramatic decrease in its hashrate, losing 200 exahashes per second (EH/s) in the wake of a severe winter storm that has swept the nation.
Foundry USA Has Seen A Bitcoin Hashrate Decline Of 200 EH/s
The ongoing winter storm is not just a meteorological phenomenon; it has wreaked havoc on daily life across the country. With temperatures plummeting due to Arctic air, the storm has led to thousands of flight cancellations and has left over 800,000 homes without power, as reported by various sources.
The repercussions extend beyond the typical challenges of travel and power outages. The Bitcoin network has also felt the sting, showing a marked decline in hashrate as miners across the U.S. scale down energy consumption to relieve pressure on the strained power grid. Foundry USA, which boasted a hashrate of approximately 340 EH/s on Friday, saw this figure plummet to just 139 EH/s by Monday, according to data from MiningPoolStats.
Before the storm, Foundry’s dominance in the Bitcoin mining realm was unparalleled, making its recent drop a seismic shift in the industry. This decline of nearly 60% has brought its output more in line with the second-largest mining pool, Antpool. The shift has also played a significant role in affecting the total Bitcoin network hashrate, as revealed by statistics from CoinWarz.
Prior to this drop, the overall Bitcoin hashrate hovered around 1,118 EH/s. However, by Sunday, it had dipped to a low point of 668 EH/s. While there has been a slight rebound, the current hashrate stands at 776 EH/s — still more than 30% lower than before the storm. Consequently, blocks are now being processed at an average of 12.28 minutes, deviating from the expected time of 10 minutes.
However, the Bitcoin network is resilient and is expected to recover quickly. Even if Foundry USA remains offline for an extended period, the network is designed to adjust its difficulty to maintain an average block time of 10 minutes. Since Satoshi Nakamoto integrated this feature into Bitcoin’s code, the network can recalibrate itself in response to drastic changes in mining power.
With the scale of this recent hashrate drop, an extended disruption could necessitate a considerable reduction in network difficulty, currently projected to decline by around 18% in the upcoming adjustment. This adjustment underscores Bitcoin’s inherent flexibility in the face of adversity, ensuring its continued viability.
BTC Price
As of the latest updates, Bitcoin’s market price is hovering at approximately $87,700, reflecting a decline of 5.7% over the past week. This price shift illustrates the broader market’s sensitivity to fluctuations in mining power and overall network health.
