Bitcoin's Shocking 11% Mining Drop: Is THIS the End of the Bull Run? Find Out Now!

In a notable development for cryptocurrency enthusiasts and miners alike, Bitcoin mining difficulty has experienced a significant drop of 11.16%, marking the sharpest decline since 2021, when China imposed a ban on cryptocurrency mining. This adjustment reduced the mining difficulty to 125.86 T at block height 935,429. The Bitcoin network is designed to automatically adjust mining difficulty every 2,016 blocks—approximately every two weeks—to maintain an average block time of 10 minutes. The recent downward adjustment reflects a dramatic and sudden reduction in the computing power linked to the network.

The primary catalyst for this sharp decrease was Winter Storm Fern, which struck the United States in January, affecting 34 states and severely disrupting power infrastructure. The adverse weather conditions, including snow, ice, and extreme cold, forced several mining facilities to temporarily cease operations. Among the most affected was Foundry USA, the world’s largest mining pool by hashrate, which saw a staggering loss of approximately 60% of its computing power. Its hashrate plummeted from nearly 400 EH/s to about 198 EH/s.

As of now, Foundry USA has made significant progress in recovery, with its hashrate rebounding to 354 EH/s and maintaining a market share of 29.47%, according to data from the Hashrate Index. However, the broader Bitcoin network's hashrate fell to a four-month low in January. In addition to the severe weather, pressures from a weakening crypto market and some miners reallocating resources to AI data centers contributed to this decline.

Currently, the average block time stands at 9.47 minutes, which is slightly below the targeted 10 minutes. According to CoinWarz, the next difficulty adjustment, expected on February 20, could see difficulty rise by approximately 5.63% to 132.96 T.

Understanding the Larger Context of Difficulty Drops

Historically, significant difficulty corrections in Bitcoin mining have coincided with structural shifts in the industry. For instance, during China's crackdown in 2021, mining difficulty experienced multiple consecutive downward adjustments, ranging from 12.6% to a record 27.9% between May and July. This period spurred a massive relocation of mining operations to the United States and other regions.

Although today's drop is less severe, it carries symbolic significance. It underscores the geographic concentration of Bitcoin mining in the U.S. and reveals the network's vulnerability to regional disruptions. Bitcoin was designed as a decentralized system, yet mining power remains concentrated in specific jurisdictions. Thus, when extreme weather events strike those areas, the effects reverberate across the global network.

As climate volatility continues to increase and miners explore diversification into AI and high-performance computing, resilience may become just as critical as affordable electricity. The latest difficulty correction could indicate not only a temporary disruption but also the early stages of another redistribution cycle in global mining capacity.