Bitcoin mining activity suffered its biggest hit since late 2021 after a severe winter storm in the United States forced several major mining companies to scale back operations, triggering a sharp decline in the network’s hashrate, production and revenue.
The Bitcoin network’s total hashrate has fallen by around 12% since November 11, marking the biggest drop since October 2021, when the network was still recovering from China’s sweeping mining ban.
The hashrate now stands at nearly 970 exahashes per second, its lowest level since September 2025, according to CryptoQuant data.
The decline accelerated this week as extreme weather disrupted electricity supplies to major U.S. mining centers.
Several publicly traded miners temporarily shut down their machines to protect infrastructure and comply with network curtailment demands, amplifying an already slowing trend that began when Bitcoin retreated from its all-time high of $126,000 toward the $100,000 level late last year.
The hashrate shock quickly impacted the miner economy. Daily revenue from Bitcoin mining fell from around $45 million on January 22 to an annual low of $28 million two days later. Although revenues have since rebounded slightly to around $34 million, they remain well below recent averages, reflecting both weaker network activity and weaker Bitcoin prices.
Production figures show an equally sharp contraction. Production from the largest publicly traded miners fell from 77 bitcoins per day to just 28 bitcoins during the same period. Other miners’ production decreased from 403 bitcoins to 209 bitcoins, significantly reducing the network’s total production.
On a rolling 30-day basis, publicly traded miners recorded a production drop of 48 bitcoins, the largest since May 2024, shortly after the last halving. Private miner production fell by 215 bitcoins, the biggest drop since July 2024.
Profitability has also deteriorated, putting even more pressure on energy-intensive businesses.
CryptoQuant’s Miner Profit and Loss Sustainability Index fell to 21, its lowest level since November 2024. This level indicates that miners are operating under conditions of deep stress, with revenues unable to cover the costs of a growing share of the network despite multiple downward adjustments in difficulty in recent epochs.
Although the challenges eased as machines were taken out of service, the relief was not enough to offset the price declines and operational disruptions. If the hashrate remains suppressed, the network could see further difficulty reductions in the coming weeks, providing some margin relief.
For now, the data points to one of the toughest times for Bitcoin miners since the ban was reset after China more than four years ago.
