Bitcoin mining activity has suffered its biggest hit since late 2021 after a severe winter storm in the United States forced several large mining companies to reduce their operations, causing a sharp drop in the network’s hash rate, production and revenue.
The total hashrate of the Bitcoin network has fallen around 12% since November 11, marking the biggest drop since October 2021, when the network was still recovering from China’s broad mining ban.
The hashrate now sits near 970 exahashes per second, its lowest level since September 2025, according to data from CryptoQuant.
The decline accelerated this week when extreme weather disrupted power supplies in major U.S. mining centers.
Several publicly traded miners temporarily shut down their machines to protect infrastructure and comply with network downgrade requests, amplifying an already softening trend that began when Bitcoin retreated from its all-time high of $126,000 to the $100,000 level late last year.
The hashrate impact quickly affected the mining economy. Daily revenue from bitcoin mining fell from approximately $45 million on January 22 to a yearly low of $28 million just two days later. While revenue has since recovered modestly to around $34 million, it remains well below recent averages, reflecting both lower network activity and weaker bitcoin prices.
Production figures show an equally pronounced contraction. The output of the largest publicly traded miners fell from 77 bitcoins per day to just 28 bitcoins during the same period. The production of other miners decreased from 403 bitcoins to 209 bitcoins, which drastically reduced the network’s total production.
Over a period of 30 consecutive days, publicly traded miners recorded a production drop of 48 bitcoins, the steepest since May 2024, shortly after the last halving. Production by private miners fell by 215 bitcoins, the largest drop since July 2024.
Profitability has also deteriorated, putting further pressure on the energy-intensive business.
CryptoQuant’s Miner Profit and Loss Sustainability Index has fallen to 21, its lowest reading since November 2024. The level indicates that miners are operating under highly stressed conditions, with revenue unable to cover the costs of a growing portion of the network despite multiple downward difficulty adjustments in recent times.
While difficulties have eased as machines have been taken offline, the relief has not been enough to offset falling prices and operational disruptions. If the hashrate remains suppressed, the network could see further difficulty cuts in the coming weeks, offering some relief on margins.
For now, the data points to one of the most challenging stretches for bitcoin miners since the post-China ban was reinstated more than four years ago.
