U.S. Winter Storm Causes Mining Farms to Decrease Load, Largest Network Hashrate Pool Foundry's Hashrate Drops by 60%

Jan. 26 (The Block) — A winter storm battering the U.S. has sharply cut Bitcoin mining activity, knocking a large chunk of the network’s hash rate offline. Mining operators proactively reduced electricity use to ease strain on the power grid. Dubbed Fernan, the storm has dumped extreme cold, snow and freezing conditions across most of the U.S., leaving over 1 million residents without power. Grid operators issued energy-saving alerts in response. Foundry USA — the network’s largest mining pool — has seen its connected hash rate drop ~60% since Friday.