Recently, the United States has been experiencing massive snowstorms from the Arctic. This has not only impacted people's daily lives but also the economy, both traditional finance and cryptocurrency.
One of the major economic impacts of the current prolonged storm in the US is a drastic decline in Bitcoin's hashrate.
Various mining pools have been forced to significantly reduce their computing power. According to Mining Pool Stats data, Foundry USA experienced a hashrate decline from 340 EH (exahash) per second on January 22 to 141 EH per second at the time of writing.
On social media, TheMinerMag reported that Bitcoin block production has slowed to 12 minutes per block, far lower than the target of 10 minutes per block.
Foundry USA is not the only mining pool impacted. Luxor has also reduced its computational power from 45 EH/second to 17 EH/second.
Also Read: What Is Mining: How It Works, Types, and Roles in the Crypto World
This decline in hashrate is caused by air mass from the Arctic reaching below freezing temperatures. As a result, snow and ice hit the central and eastern areas of the United States.
In the face of the snowstorm, grid operators in various states announce energy conservation alerts as demand for electricity for heating increases.
Unlike traditional industries, Bitcoin miners are integrated into the demand response program. These programs reimburse companies for reducing their electricity usage when energy demand is high.
Various mining companies in the United States have responded to this alert by reducing their computing power. This has caused the Bitcoin hashrate to drop dramatically over the past few days.
According to Hashrate Index estimates, the United States controls nearly 38% of the global Bitcoin hashrate. Mining activity in the United States is critical to maintaining network security.
However, if the storm continues, Bitcoin hashrate will not be the only major impact. Other core sectors such as healthcare, transportation, and supply chains will also be disrupted.
