Many areas of the Lone Star State experienced subzero temperatures in January — a weather event that has previously led to Bitcoin miners temporarily curtailing operations.
A sudden freeze in Texas may have contributed to a 34% drop in the Bitcoin hash rate, as some miners were forced to curtail operations amid demand on the state’s energy grid.
Beginning on Jan. 14, temperatures in many parts of Texas dropped below freezing for one of the first times since a massive ice storm in February 2023. According to data from YCharts, the total Bitcoin (BTC) network hash rate fell from more than 629 exahashes per second (EH/s) on Jan. 11 to roughly 415 EH/s on Jan. 15 — a 34% drop. The analytics site reported the hash rate increased to more than 454 EH/s on Jan. 16 as temperatures in Austin briefly rose above freezing during the day.
In Texas’ case, high demand often equates to extreme heat in the summer and winter conditions, potentially damaging the state’s energy infrastructure. In December 2022, Argo Blockchain reported a significant drop in activity due to winter conditions at its Texas Helios facility, mining roughly 25% less Bitcoin than it had in November. As of Jan. 17, ERCOT reported that “grid conditions are expected to be normal” starting at midnight local time.
