Winter storm Fern is currently sweeping across the United States, impacting millions by leaving over one million residents without electrical power. Recently, Foundry USA, which operates the largest Bitcoin mining pool, reported a drop in its hashrate by approximately 60% since Friday due to this severe storm.
According to TheMinerMag, “Bitcoin hashrate on Foundry USA alone is down by nearly 200 exahashes per second (EH/s), or 60%, since Friday amid continued curtailment. Temporary block production has slowed down to 12 minutes.”
At present, Foundry USA still manages to maintain around 198 EH/s of hashing power, which represents about 23% of the total global mining pool hashrate, per data from Hashrate Index.
Impact of the Storm on Mining Operations
The winter storm has not only affected Foundry USA but has also led to operational adjustments by other mining pools serving users across the U.S., including Luxor. Reports indicate that miners are adapting their energy intake to alleviate stress on the grid infrastructure as winter storm Fern continues its impact.
The ongoing storm features a blend of snow, ice, and freezing rain, greatly affecting the Southeastern and Northeastern U.S. The National Weather Service forecasts that the storm could stretch roughly 1,800 miles long, with power outages impacting more than one million residents.
Bitcoin miners often act as a controllable load resource for electrical grid infrastructure, regulating their energy demands to aid in balancing the grid during peak demand times and periods of low consumer usage.
