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Bitcoin

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The Bitcoin mining hashrate secured by Foundry USA’s mining pool fell by roughly 60% since Friday as miners across the United States curtailed operations in response to severe winter weather.
“Bitcoin hashrate on Foundry USA alone is down by nearly 200 exahashes per second (EH/s), or 60%, since Friday amid continued curtailment. Temporary block production has slowed down to 12 minutes,” according to <a href="https://t.me/TheMinerMag/3388" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">TheMinerMag</a>.&nbsp;
FoundryUSA still commands about 198 (EH/s) of hashing power, accounting for about 23% of the global mining pool hashrate, <a href="https://hashrateindex.com/hashrate/pools" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">data</a> from Hashrate Index shows.&nbsp;
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 <img alt="Mining, Bitcoin Mining, Mining Pools" src="https://s3.cointelegraph.com/uploads/2026-01/019bf6fe-d7e5-7027-87ad-8629c5d706ea.png" title="">
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 A breakdown of hashing power controlled by different Bitcoin mining pools. Source: <a href="https://hashrateindex.com/hashrate/pools" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Hashrate Index</a>
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The <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/explained/what-is-bitcoin-hash-rate-and-why-does-it-matter" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Bitcoin network’s hashrate</a> is the total amount of computing power deployed by <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/explained/bitcoin-mining-in-2025" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Bitcoin mining operators</a> to secure the proof-of-work protocol.
The curtailment has affected other mining pools serving users in the US, including Luxor, TheMinerMag <a href="https://theminermag.com/news/2026-01-24/bitcoin-grid-unplug-arctic" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">reported</a> on Saturday, as <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitcoin-miners-prepare-ice-storm-southern-us" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">winter storm Fern sweeps through the US</a> and forces miners to adjust their energy usage to remove stress from grid infrastructure.&nbsp;
Related: <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/tennessee-kingston-ordinance-crypto-mining-data-center" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Tennessee city clears path for crypto mining, data centers with new zoning rules</a>
<h2 id="bitcoin-miners-can-balance-the-energy-grid-in-times-of-emergency">Bitcoin miners can balance the energy grid in times of emergency</h2>
Bitcoin miners act as a controllable load resource for public electrical grid infrastructure, adjusting their energy needs to <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/crypto-miner-explains-how-bitcoin-mining-stabilizes-grids" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">balance the grid</a> during times of peak demand and low consumer usage.
Too much energy within an electrical grid system can damage energy infrastructure during times of low demand, and must be safely dumped to prevent harm to grid components and individuals.
Bitcoin miners can power their mining machines on when demand is too low, <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/explained/bitcoin-miners-as-energy-buyers-explained" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">siphoning otherwise dangerous levels of power</a> away from the grid. Conversely, they can turn their machines off during times of peak demand to allow energy to flow to consumers.
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 <img alt="Mining, Bitcoin Mining, Mining Pools" src="https://s3.cointelegraph.com/uploads/2026-01/019bf702-4eab-7a8e-9174-cfb8b43af37a.png" title="">
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 Winter storm Fern is impacting large swaths of the US. Source: <a href="https://weather.com/weather/radar/interactive/l/c8ff2d25883f9516efb79b84c31840711819af8d0834ad84d7c29a6bfc43d5d4" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">The Weather Channel</a>
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The current winter storm in the US features a mix of snow, ice and freezing rain throughout the Southeastern US, the Northeast, and parts of the Midwest, according to radar <a href="https://weather.com/weather/radar/interactive/l/c8ff2d25883f9516efb79b84c31840711819af8d0834ad84d7c29a6bfc43d5d4" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">forecasts</a> from The Weather Channel.
The storm is projected to extend about 1,800 miles, with widespread power outages affecting more than 1 million residents, The Weather Channel <a href="https://weather.com/news/weather/news/2026-01-25-live-updates-january-25-winter-storm-fern" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">reported</a>.&nbsp;
Magazine: <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/magazine/ai-more-power-hungry-bitcoin-profits-pose-risks-bitcoin-miners/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">AI may already use more power than Bitcoin — and it threatens Bitcoin mining</a>

Foundry USA hashrate drops ~60% amid US winter storm curtailments

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