Winter Storms Expose Bitcoin's Power Grid Weakness: 30% Mining Pool Drop Sparks Security Concerns

A winter storm in the U.S. has exposed Bitcoin's hidden vulnerability: its reliance on weather-sensitive power grids, triggering a 30% drop in Foundry's mining capacity and a 10% network-wide hashrate collapse. Grid operators in Texas and other regions activated voluntary curtailment agreements with miners to manage power demand, with CleanSpark (CLSK) curtailing 100+ MW of mining capacity within minutes of a TVA request.

Block times increased to ~11 minutes during the storm, with average daily hashrate estimates showing volatility. JPMorgan noted that falling hashrate could temporarily improve profitability for remaining miners, though the interplay between delayed block confirmations and fee dynamics remains a critical risk factor.

HashrateIndex and Hashlabs projected end-2026 hashrate scenarios ranging up to 1.7 ZH/s, with weather-driven volatility a recurring risk. Foundry, the largest U.S. Bitcoin mining pool, reduced its hashrate by 30% (from 340 EH/s to 242 EH/s) during the storm, highlighting the fragility of grid-linked mining operations.

JPMorgan said:

"Falling hashrate could temporarily improve profitability for remaining miners, but the long-term stability of the network is at risk if weather-driven volatility persists."

HashrateIndex said:

"End-2026 hashrate scenarios project growth up to 1.7 ZH/s, but recurring weather events could disrupt these projections."

Look, the storm's impact on block time delays and miner balance sheets underscores a fundamental tension: while reduced competition might temporarily boost margins, the erosion of network security through hashrate volatility poses a systemic threat to Bitcoin's infrastructure resilience.

⚠️ LEGAL DISCLAIMER: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial or investment advice.