Severe Winter Storm Impacts Bitcoin Mining Operations in the US
The hashrate of Foundry USA, a digital asset advisory firm with the world’s largest Bitcoin (BTC) mining pool, has curtailed its hashrate by about 60% since Friday in response to the severe winter storm impacting large swaths of the United States. This significant reduction in hashrate is a result of the firm’s efforts to adjust its energy usage and remove stress from grid infrastructure during the extreme weather conditions.
“Bitcoin hashrate on Foundry USA alone is down by nearly 200 exahashes per second (EH/s), or 60%, since Friday amid continued curtailment. Temporary block production has slowed down to 12 minutes,” according to TheMinerMag. This reduction in hashrate is a notable example of how Bitcoin mining operations can be adapted to balance the energy grid during times of emergency.
FoundryUSA still commands about 198 (EH/s) of hashing power, accounting for about 23% of the global mining pool hashrate, data from Hashrate Index shows. The Bitcoin network’s hashrate is the total amount of computing power deployed by Bitcoin mining operators to secure the proof-of-work protocol.
A breakdown of hashing power controlled by different Bitcoin mining pools. Source: Hashrate Index
Bitcoin Miners’ Role in Balancing the Energy Grid
Bitcoin miners act as a controllable load resource for public electrical grid infrastructure, adjusting their energy needs to balance the grid during times of peak demand and low consumer usage. This flexibility allows miners to power their machines on when demand is too low, siphoning otherwise dangerous levels of power away from the grid, and turn their machines off during times of peak demand to allow energy to flow to consumers.
Too much energy within an electrical grid system can damage energy infrastructure during times of low demand, and must be safely dumped to prevent harm to grid components and individuals. Bitcoin miners can play a crucial role in preventing such damage by adjusting their energy consumption in response to changing grid conditions.
Winter storm Fern is impacting large swaths of the US. Source: The Weather Channel
Winter Storm Fern’s Impact on the US
The current winter storm in the US features a mix of snow, ice, and freezing rain throughout the Southeastern US, the Northeast, and parts of the Midwest, according to radar forecasts from The Weather Channel. The storm is projected to extend about 1,800 miles, with widespread power outages affecting more than 1 million residents, The Weather Channel reported.
As the storm continues to affect the US, Bitcoin mining operations are likely to remain impacted, with hashrates potentially fluctuating in response to changing energy demand and grid conditions. For more information on the impact of winter storm Fern on Bitcoin mining, visit the original source.
Read the full article on Cointelegraph: https://cointelegraph.com/news/foundry-usa-hashrate-down-60-deadly-storm
