Record Hashpower Collapse Ignites Miner Crunch

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Bitcoin mining, that odd economy of cold machines, records its steepest decline in nearly five years.

The historic drop signals a joint crisis: weather’s stubborn grip and the economic squeeze gnawing at operators who once believed only in rising charts.

Economics Cracking in a Frigid Hash War

According to Mempool developer Mononaut, the network’s difficulty adjusted downward by 11.16% to 125.86 trillion (T) this week.

Notably, this adjustment marks the largest capitulation in mining power since July 2021, when a state-mandated ban in China forced a massive exodus of hashing power.

The difficulty adjustment mechanism keeps Bitcoin block production roughly at ten-minute intervals.

When miners go offline, block times slow, prompting the protocol to lower the difficulty to make mining easier for the remaining participants.

Unlike the geopolitical shocks of 2021, the current decline is born of a collision between meteorological instability and thinning profit margins.

The sharp contraction follows severe winter storms across North America in late January, which disrupted energy grids serving major mining clusters.

In jurisdictions such as Texas, miners participate in “demand response” programs. These operators voluntarily reduce their power consumption during peak load periods to help stabilize the grid in exchange for energy credits.

However, the magnitude of this 11% drop suggests more than just temporary curtailment. It points to economic capitulation.

The severe weather stressed electrical infrastructure, spiking spot power prices.

For operators running older, less efficient hardware, the surge in operating expenses likely pushed profitability into negative territory. This financial strain led to a permanent or semi-permanent shutdown of rigs.

Notably, available data suggest that major industry players were already operating with exceptionally thin margins before the storms hit.

Ki Young Ju, CEO of the analytics firm CryptoQuant, estimated that Bitcoin miner Marathon Digital spent approximately $67,704 to mine a single BTC in the third quarter of 2025.

Avg. Bitcoin mining cost was $67,704, according to MARA Holdings’ latest disclosure in Q3 2025.

– Ki Young Ju (@ki_young_ju) February 6, 2026

With BTC trading below $70,000, several miners are operating at a loss before accounting for other general expenses.

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2026-02-08 15:26