A powerful storm swept across North America over the weekend, and miners across the U.S. shut down their computers. Between Dec. 21 and Dec. 24, the bitcoin mining hashrate decreased by about 100 exahash per second (EH/s), or 40%. According to the miners, curtailment helps electricity grids.
There has been an Arctic storm sweeping across the U.S. and Canada, sending temperatures as low as -50°F (-45°C) in the western state of Montana, which is located in the western part of the country. Mining Pool Stats reports that Foundry USA, the largest pool in the U.S., lost more than half of its hashrate on Dec. 23 – the biggest loss among major pools.
A number of the biggest miners in the U.S. also curtailed operations, including Riot Blockchain and Core Scientific, which is undergoing Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings. According to Lee Bratcher, the founder and president of the Texas Blockchain Council, at 6 a.m. on Saturday, 99% of industrial-scale bitcoin mining was turned off in Texas.
