Storm in the United States hits mining farms! Bitcoin hash rate drops by 12%, the largest decline since China banned mining.

A US blizzard has forced miners to shut down, causing Bitcoin hash rate to drop by 12%. Mining revenue and output have hit new lows simultaneously, and the miner profit and loss index has fallen to a low point, with market attention on subsequent difficulty adjustments.

Bitcoin mining activity is experiencing its most severe impact since the end of 2021. Due to a powerful winter storm in the United States, several major mining companies were forced to shut down urgently to respond to grid dispatching, leading to a comprehensive plunge in Bitcoin network hash rate, mining output, and revenue.

According to on-chain data from CryptoQuant, the total network hash rate has sharply decreased by about 12% since November 11 of last year. This is the largest single-day drop since China’s全面 ban on mining in October 2021. Currently, the total network hash rate stands at only 970 EH/s per second, the lowest level since September 2025.

Image source: CryptoQuant

This massive hash rate retreat began to worsen rapidly last week, as extreme cold affected several major mining hubs in the US, causing tight electricity supplies. To protect equipment and comply with “power restriction requirements,” many publicly listed miners chose to temporarily shut down their machines, resulting in an immediate freeze in hash rate, which was reflected promptly in miners’ earnings.

Data shows that Bitcoin’s daily mining revenue dropped from about $45 million on January 22 to $28 million within just two days, hitting a new one-year low. Although it has slightly rebounded to around $34 million, it remains well below recent average levels, reflecting the dual pressures of declining hash rate and weakening coin prices.

Mining output has also shrunk sharply. The daily total output of listed mining companies decreased from 77 Bitcoins to only 28 Bitcoins; small and medium miners’ output fell from 403 to 209 Bitcoins.

Looking at the 30-day moving average, the output of listed miners decreased by 48 Bitcoins, the largest decline since the last halving in May 2024; non-listed miners’ output decreased by 215 Bitcoins, the largest drop since July 2024.

Even more concerning is that miners’ survival space is being squeezed to the limit. CryptoQuant’s “Miner Profit and Loss Sustainability Index” has fallen to 21, the lowest level since November 2024, indicating that more and more miners are “operating at a loss.” Despite multiple difficulty adjustments, mining revenue still struggles to cover high electricity and maintenance costs.

Image source: CryptoQuant

Although recent shutdowns of some mining machines have led to a reduction in mining difficulty, it is still insufficient to offset the impact of weakening coin prices and operational disruptions. If hash rate remains low, larger difficulty adjustments are expected in the coming weeks, providing some relief for miners still active in the field.

• This article is reprinted with permission from: 《Block Guest》
• Original title: 《US Blizzard Hits Mining Farms! Bitcoin Hash Rate Plunges 12%, Worst Drop Since China Banned Mining》
• Original author: Block Sister MEL