Bitcoin Mining: Cold Weather in the US Triggers Bitcoin Mining Slowdown

As market mood is still affected by fear and uncertainty, Bitcoin is finding it difficult to recoup momentum below the $88,000 barrier.

Following a turbulent sell-off, buyers are reluctant to intervene forcefully, and sellers are pushing rallies at lower levels, keeping price action constricted near important support.

Although macro risk and derivatives pressure have received most of the attention, on-chain indications are now raising further concerns about the current situation.

The hashrate, which gauges the entire processing power protecting the network and represents total mining activity, is a crucial sign of the underlying network health of Bitcoin, according to leading analyst Darkfost.

A significant drop in hashrate under normal circumstances indicates that miners are willingly shutting down their equipment, frequently as a result of stress or unprofitability—typically linked to miner capitulation phases close to market lows.

That is precisely the kind of move that is currently taking place. The hashrate of Bitcoin has drastically decreased in just two days, from 1.133 ZH/s to 690 EH/s. The cause of such a sudden constriction is immediately questioned because it is extremely uncommon. Crucially, Darkfost points out that this occurrence does not fit the traditional narrative of miners capitulating due to declining profits or collapsing prices.

Cold Weather in the US Triggers Bitcoin Mining Slowdown

Rather than economic pressure within the mining industry itself, the downturn seems to be associated with external disruptions. This distinction is important. The hashrate shock adds a new variable that could affect short-term dynamics, miner behavior, and market psychology as conditions change, even while the price is still under pressure below $88K.

Darkfost claims that external interruptions rather than financial strain in the mining industry appear to be the cause of the significant decline in Bitcoin's hashrate. The United States, which accounts for about one-third of the world's Bitcoin hashrate, has seen a severe ice storm in recent days, coinciding with the shutdown of numerous ASIC equipment. Rather than voluntary miner capitulation, the timing strongly points to a weather-related shock.

After a protracted corrective phase, Bitcoin is currently trading at a significant inflection zone at $87,850 on the 3-day chart. According to the larger structure, Bitcoin peaked at about $125K in late 2025 before going into a long-term decline characterized by steep sell-offs and progressively weaker attempts at recovery. Although the price has stabilized above the mid-$80K range, buyers' conviction is weak and momentum is still brittle.

Compression rather than capitulation is suggested by price behavior over recent candles. In comparison to the November selloff, both volume and volatility have decreased, suggesting a decrease in seller urgency. Bulls must stay around the $86K–$88K range to prevent a more serious meltdown.

Failure here keeps downside risk open below the low-$80K range, but a clear move back over $90K–$92K would be necessary to change structure and imply an early rebound.