Bitcoin mining difficulty fell 11.16% due to winter storms, helping miners recover profits and network hashrate rebounds toward 1.3 EH/s.
Bitcoin mining difficulty dropped 11.16% to 125.86 T, marking the largest negative adjustment since China’s crackdown in July 2021. Mempool developer Mononaut reported this as the 10th biggest single decline in the history of Bitcoin. The drop came on the heels of severe winter storms in the U.S. that temporarily curbed mining operations and knocked out activity in the networks.
Winter Storms Trigger Major Bitcoin Mining Adjustments
Severe cold waves in Texas required miners to cut electricity usage, which temporarily reduced mining production in Texas. As such, the difficulty of Bitcoin had to adjust in order to maintain block times.
Experts added that farms throughout the U.S. were being shut down temporarily, which caused a temporary drop in network computing power. Meanwhile, miners in other areas kept working on a limited scale.
Bitcoin just experienced an 11.16% drop in difficulty – the largest negative adjustment since the July 2021 china mining ban crash, and the 10th largest negative % adjustment of all time. https://t.co/AVUGsv8mlB pic.twitter.com/Fauykg0d3l
— mononaut (@mononautical) February 7, 2026
The adjustment also represents broader patterns of environmental impact on mining. For example, similar events in the years 2021 and 2022 did produce single digits changes in difficulty but not double digits. Analysts suggest that extreme weather will continue to influence miner behaviour and force the network into imbalance between supply and reward through automatic re-calculation.
Profitability Relief and Network Recovery
This 11.16% decrease is an immediate improvement to miner revenue, so called hashprice, per terahash. Before the adjustment, the hashprice went down to 14-month lows, putting financial stress on smaller mining operations. Now, active miners see more earnings, thereby stabilizes the operations and avoids closures during bad conditions.
Furthermore, the network hashrate indicates potential recovery as idle mining machines are coming online. At the moment, implied hashrate trends indicate that the total network may rise to around 1.3 EH/s. This recovery helps ensure that the production of blocks stays close to ten minutes, which helps maintain stability and transaction confirmation time on the network.
Historical Context and Market Implications
The difficulty of mining Bitcoin has been changing dramatically over the years. In July 2021, when China put a nation-wide mining ban in place, the impact was a 15% fall – the biggest recorded prior to this event. Analysts compare the current adjustment to that period saying weather-related impacts are temporary but can play a significant role on the economics of mining.
Additionally, the miners are likely to adapt, shifting site uses to areas with cheaper energy or stable climates. These changes in operations minimize downtime and contribute to the network at all times. Investors also track hashprice and network hashrate as indicators for potential Bitcoin price trends and link miner profitability with market sentiment.
The 11.16% drop proves just how robust the Bitcoin protocol is in handling unexpected drops in production. By automatically recalculating difficulty, the network ensures regular block times and distribution of rewards. Experts expect to continue recovery for the next adjustment epoch with some small ups and downs based on weather, energy availability, and global expansion of mining.