Bitcoin Hashrate Falls Over 200 EH/s as U.S. Arctic Storm Strains Power Grids in January 2026

On January 26, 2026, a severe winter storm across the United States led to one of the steepest short‑term Bitcoin hashrate declines in recent years, with around 200 exahashes per second taken offline and average block times lengthening to about 12 minutes. Between January 23 and January 25, Foundry USA’s hashrate fell by nearly 60%, while other U.S.-centric pools such as Luxor, Antpool, and Binance Pool also reduced capacity, temporarily removing more than 110 EH/s from the network. The episode underscores how U.S. miners now use demand‑response and flexible‑load strategies to relieve grid stress during extreme weather.