Bitcoin Miner Production Data Highlights Impact of US Winter Storm

New data from CryptoQuant offers fresh insight into how January’s severe US winter storm disrupted Bitcoin mining operations, revealing a sharp drop in daily BTC production as miners curtailed power use to ease grid stress.

The storm affected large portions of the continental United States, bringing extreme cold, snow, and ice that forced many mining operators to temporarily reduce activity. The event underscored how closely Bitcoin mining has become intertwined with energy markets and grid conditions, particularly in the US.

Miner Production Falls Sharply During Storm

According to data shared by CryptoQuant head of research Julio Moreno, daily Bitcoin production among publicly traded miners typically ranged between 70 and 90 BTC per day in the weeks before the storm. At the peak of the disruption, output dropped to approximately 30–40 BTC per day, representing a decline of more than 50%.

As weather conditions improved, production began to recover, suggesting the reductions were largely temporary and voluntary, driven by participation in grid-curtailment programs rather than infrastructure damage.

Earlier reporting showed the storm coincided with a dip in US Bitcoin hashrate and a rally in mining stocks. The newly released production figures provide clearer evidence of the operational impact behind those market moves.

Miners Most Affected by the Curtailments

The CryptoQuant dataset includes production figures from several major publicly traded miners, including:

Core Scientific (CORZ)

Bitfarms (BITF)

CleanSpark (CLSK)

MARA Holdings (MARA)

Iris Energy (IREN)

Canaan (CAN), which also runs a self-mining operation

Many of these firms operate significant infrastructure in the United States and regularly take part in demand-response and grid-stabilization programs. Other large US-focused miners include Riot Platforms, TeraWulf and Cipher Mining.

These programs allow miners to shut down or reduce power consumption during periods of peak demand, helping stabilize electricity grids during extreme weather events.

Storm Adds Pressure in an Already Tough Mining Environment

The winter storm disruption comes at a challenging time for Bitcoin miners, highlighting how external shocks can intensify existing financial pressures across the sector.

Although Bitcoin mining is often praised for its ability to support grid resilience through flexible energy demand, profitability has been strained by several overlapping factors:

Lower Bitcoin prices

Elevated network hashrate

Rising energy and operating costs

Post-halving revenue compression

In 2025, industry publication The Miner Mag described conditions as the “harshest margin environment of all time,” citing high power costs, limited access to capital, and shrinking block rewards.

Looking ahead, analysts expect these pressures to persist into 2026, driving further consolidation and accelerating miners’ exploration of AI computing and high-performance computing (HPC) as supplemental revenue streams.