Bitcoin Mining Suffers Sharpest Setback Since 2021 as US Winter Storm Slashes Hashrate

Bitcoin mining activity has experienced its steepest decline since late 2021, as a severe winter storm across the United States forced major mining firms to scale back operations, leading to a sharp drop in network hashrate, production, and miner revenue. According to CryptoQuant data, Bitcoin’s total network hashrate has fallen by around 12% since November 11, marking the largest drawdown since October 2021, a period that followed China’s sweeping crackdown on crypto mining.

The network hashrate has now dropped to approximately 970 exahashes per second, its lowest level since September 2025. The downturn intensified this week as extreme weather disrupted power supplies in key US mining regions. Many publicly listed Bitcoin miners temporarily shut down machines to protect infrastructure and comply with grid curtailment requests, accelerating a downward trend that had already begun when Bitcoin retreated from its $126,000 all-time high toward the $100,000 range late last year.

This sudden hashrate shock has had an immediate impact on miner economics. Daily Bitcoin mining revenue plunged from about $45 million on January 22 to a yearly low of $28 million just two days later. Although revenue has since recovered slightly to around $34 million, it remains well below recent averages due to reduced network activity and softer Bitcoin prices.

Bitcoin production has also fallen sharply. Output from the largest publicly traded miners dropped from 77 BTC per day to just 28 BTC, while production from other miners declined from 403 BTC to 209 BTC. On a 30-day rolling basis, public miners saw a 48 BTC decline in output, the steepest drop since May 2024 following the most recent Bitcoin halving. Non-public miners recorded a 215 BTC decrease, the largest since July 2024.

Profitability has deteriorated significantly. CryptoQuant’s Miner Profit and Loss Sustainability Index has fallen to 21, its lowest level since November 2024, signaling that many miners are operating under severe financial stress. Although Bitcoin mining difficulty has adjusted downward as machines went offline, the relief has not been sufficient to offset falling prices and operational disruptions. If the hashrate remains suppressed, further difficulty reductions may occur, but for now, miners are facing one of their toughest periods since the post-China ban reset more than four years ago.