Network Power Vanishes
The Bitcoin network shed nearly 200 exahashes per second (EH/s) this weekend as Winter Storm Fernan battered the United States, forcing industrial-scale miners to sever power connections. The sharp contraction centered on Foundry USA, the world’s largest mining pool, which saw its hashrate collapse by 60% since Friday.
Data from TheMinerMag indicates Foundry’s output slid from a peak of ~340 EH/s to roughly 140 EH/s. The sheer scale of the drop, equivalent to the entire network’s power in late 2021, dragged global block production times to an average of 12.4 minutes, well above the protocol’s 10-minute target.
Grid Stabilization in Action
This was not a technical failure; it was a feature. As Arctic temperatures strained grids from Texas to the Midwest, miners executed voluntary curtailments via demand-response programs. By powering down during peak residential heating demand, facilities like those in Foundry’s pool effectively acted as load balancers for the US electrical infrastructure.
“Bitcoin hashrate on Foundry USA alone is down by nearly 200 exahashes per second… Temporary block production has slowed down to 12 minutes.” TheMinerMag
Market Indifference
Traders ignored the physical disruption. Bitcoin held firmly at $88,200, showing negligible volatility despite the security budget haircut. The network’s difficulty adjustment algorithm is expected to recalibrate the block cadence in approximately 13 days, likely triggering a double-digit downward adjustment if the outage persists.
