Bitcoin’s mining difficulty increased by approximately 15% to 144.4 trillion, reversing an 11% drop from earlier in February. The prior decline followed severe U.S. winter storms that disrupted power and forced major miners offline. As operations were restored, the network’s hash rate rebounded, triggering the latest upward adjustment which strengthens network security but increases operational pressure for miners.
Bitcoin’s mining difficulty jumped about 15% to 144.4 trillion on February 20 according to data from CoinWarz. This reversed an 11% decline earlier in the month, which had been the sharpest drop since China’s 2021 mining ban.
The earlier difficulty drop followed a sharp reduction in hash rate after severe winter storms swept across much of the United States. Foundry USA, the largest mining pool, briefly saw its computing power fall from nearly 400 exahashes per second to about 198 EH/s before recovering.
Hash rate measures the total computing power securing the network, while mining difficulty adjusts approximately every two weeks. As U.S. miners restored operations after the storm, hash rate rebounded and prompted the latest upward adjustment.
While higher difficulty strengthens Bitcoin’s network security, it also raises the computational effort required to earn block rewards. This tightens margins for miners already facing significant cost pressures.
Although the winter storm forced some U.S. Bitcoin miners offline, it did not necessarily erase revenue. Many participate in demand response programs, allowing them to pause mining and sell electricity back to the grid during price spikes.
“In January, our power infrastructure highlighted the flexibility of our operating model,” said Bruce Rodgers, chairman and CEO of Bitcoin miner LM Funding America. A February report stated the company generated over a quarter of its typical quarterly energy revenue in one weekend by redirecting power to the grid.
Canaan Inc., a Singapore-based mining hardware manufacturer with U.S. operations, also participated in power curtailments. The company stated in a January production update that its activities helped balance grid demand in storm-affected regions.
Since China’s 2021 mining crackdown, the United States has become the world’s largest Bitcoin-mining hub. Data from the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance shows the U.S. now accounts for over one-third of the global Bitcoin hash rate.
