A powerful Arctic storm sweeping across the United States has disrupted bitcoin mining operations, pushing block times beyond 12 minutes.
Mining data outlet theminermag.com reported that Foundry USA has seen roughly 60% of its hashrate curtailed as miners scaled back production.
“Bitcoin hashrate on Foundry USA alone is down by nearly 200 EH/s, or 60%, since Friday amid continued curtailment. Temporary block production has slowed down to 12 minutes,”
theminermag.com said.
Miners reportedly reduced output to ease strain on regional power grids as freezing temperatures and heavy snowfall hit multiple states.
A large share of US bitcoin mining capacity is based in Texas, where several regions were placed under winter storm warnings.
Power outages affected an estimated 840,000 people as the storm intensified, increasing pressure on energy infrastructure.
Network data showed bitcoin hashrate dropping sharply on shorter time frames despite higher seven-day average readings.
Block interval data from multiple tracking platforms confirmed sustained delays above normal production levels.
Analysts said prolonged slow block times could trigger a significant downward difficulty adjustment in the next epoch.
Estimates suggested the upcoming difficulty change could fall by more than 17% if current conditions persist.
Miners are expected to gradually restore hashrate once weather conditions improve and grid stress eases.
Forecasters warned the Arctic blast may continue impacting parts of the country into early February.
At the time of reporting, Bitcoin price was $86,718.37.