Does the crypto winter have a connection to extreme weather? Earlier this year, North America experienced a severe cold winter storm, putting pressure on power systems in many areas. Some mining farms were forced to suspend operations, further worsening the already strained Bitcoin mining industry. The operating environment for miners clearly deteriorated, with Bitcoin’s revenue per PET dropping from about $70 at its peak to $35, nearly halving. Under the dual impact of falling BTC prices and extreme weather, the network’s total hash rate significantly declined, with mining difficulty decreasing by approximately 11%, marking the largest drop since China’s crackdown on mining in 2021.
Extreme weather impacts causing power outages and mining farm shutdowns
Power outages triggered by winter storms in the United States have become a major external factor contributing to recent declines in Bitcoin’s hash rate. Due to extreme low temperatures, power supply and internet stability were affected in many regions, forcing some mining farms to halt operations. A large number of mining machines went offline, causing a noticeable short-term drop in the network’s hash rate. In this context, Bitcoin mining difficulty recently decreased by about 11%, the largest decline since China’s mining crackdown in 2021. Mining difficulty, a core indicator of how hard it is to produce new blocks, is adjusted approximately every two weeks based on hash rate changes to maintain an average block time of 10 minutes; when hash rate plunges, the system lowers difficulty to keep the network stable.
Bitcoin miner revenue deteriorates
The loss of hash rate also reflects a worsening operating environment for miners. Since Bitcoin’s price peaked at around $126,000 in October, it has fallen sharply and is now hovering around $69,500, directly compressing mining profits. Measured by hash price, revenue per terahash has dropped from nearly $70 at its peak to just over $35. For miners with less efficient equipment and higher energy costs, profit margins are shrinking rapidly, forcing some farms to shut down or scale back, further reducing hash rate. Data from Blockchain.com shows that after the latest difficulty adjustment, mining difficulty decreased from over 141.6 trillion to about 125.86 trillion, indicating a significant reduction in active mining machines supporting the Bitcoin network.
Will winter storms impact Bitcoin? The crypto winter may persist!
Extreme weather could also be a factor influencing Bitcoin’s price. Severe winter storms in Texas and other regions led grid operators to request large electricity consumers to reduce load, causing some public mining farms to scale back operations. In some cases, daily Bitcoin production dropped by over 60%.
In this scenario, some mining companies are beginning to adjust their long-term strategies, shifting toward high-performance computing and AI-related businesses. For example, Bitfarms (BITF) announced it will no longer be just a Bitcoin miner but will develop AI and data center services. The market responded positively, reflecting investor interest in diversified business models.
Although difficulty reductions are often seen as signs of industry pressure, they are fundamentally a self-regulation mechanism. For miners still online, reduced competition can improve profitability per unit of hash power, helping to sustain operations. Historical experience shows that large difficulty drops are often accompanied by miners selling Bitcoin to cover costs, which can lead to a “miner capitulation phase.” Afterward, prices may gradually stabilize or even rebound.
This article: “Crypto Winter” is not an adjective; severe climate may be the real culprit behind price impacts. First published by Chain News ABMedia.
Disclaimer: The information on this page may come from third parties and does not represent the views or opinions of Gate. The content displayed on this page is for reference only and does not constitute any financial, investment, or legal advice. Gate does not guarantee the accuracy or completeness of the information and shall not be liable for any losses arising from the use of this information. Virtual asset investments carry high risks and are subject to significant price volatility. You may lose all of your invested principal. Please fully understand the relevant risks and make prudent decisions based on your own financial situation and risk tolerance. For details, please refer to
Disclaimer.
Related Articles
BTC 15-minute rise of 0.53%: Institutional derivatives adding positions drives a short-term rebound
Between 2026-04-20 01:30 and 2026-04-20 01:45 (UTC), the BTC spot price fluctuated within a narrow range of 74290.9 to 74709.7 USDT. Over the 15-minute period, the return was +0.53%, with a range of 0.56%. Overall market volatility increased, drawing attention, but the number of active on-chain addresses remained steady, with no sign of extreme capital movements.
The main driver behind this move is institutional capital inflows into mainstream futures platforms and adjustments to derivatives position structures, especially CME futures open interest (OI), which rose against the trend by 2.61%. Meanwhile, some institutions added to defensive hedges and positioned for short-term rebounds within the price consolidation range. In addition, short-term Put options trading on platforms such as Deribit was active: the main contracts were concentrated on near-term downside protection, indicating that derivatives capital has increased its allocation to defensive strategies and that the spot market has passively followed the upward move.
In addition, ETF funds recorded $1.87 billion in net inflows in Q1, easing the consecutive net outflow trend seen earlier before March and providing medium-term background support for spot prices. Although on-chain active addresses over 1 hour stayed in the 19500–19600 range without abnormal increases or decreases, structural behavior by institutions across the derivatives and ETF markets converged to push short-term price volatility higher. There were no signals of sell pressure from retail traders or major whales, and no large transfers or extreme liquidation events; overall momentum came from institutional-level maneuvering.
It is worth noting that the derivatives market Put/Call ratio remains on the high side. If the price cannot continue moving upward, short-term exit pressure could intensify at any time. With overall OI shrinking, the activity of leveraged funds in the market weakens. Going forward, it is important to focus on changes in derivatives positions, ETF fund flows, and the in-and-out movements of active capital on-chain in order to respond to the risk of sharp short-term volatility. For more market information, it is recommended to continuously track relevant data indicators and capital-level anomalies.
GateNews1h ago
BTC falls 0.44% in 15 minutes: ETF fund outflows and derivatives shorts add to the slide
From 21:45 to 22:00 (UTC) on April 19, 2026, the BTC price dropped by 0.44% within 15 minutes. The candlestick range was 74,366.1 to 74,789.3 USDT, with an amplitude of 0.57%. Short-term volatility was concentrated. During this period, the trading volume for large orders rose significantly, market attention increased, and volatility intensified.
The main driving force behind this deviation was that U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs saw a large net outflow of $291 million over two days from April 18 to April 19. This reflected institutional funds pulling away in the short term, which led to a marked increase in sell pressure in the spot market. At the same time, BTC perpetual contract
GateNews5h ago
BTC falls below 74000 USDT
Gate News bot message, Gate market data shows that BTC has fallen below 74000 USDT, with a current price of 73979.6 USDT.
CryptoRadar5h ago
BTC dips slightly by 0.53% in 15 minutes: whale transfers increase sell pressure and amplified liquidity widen the short-term drop
From 17:45 to 18:00 (UTC) on 2026-04-19, within 15 minutes BTC’s spot price fell -0.53%, with a price range of 74648.4 to 75212.8 USDT and a swing of 0.75%. During this period, market attention increased, volatility clearly accelerated, and the magnitude of the abnormal move exceeded typical levels for the same timeframe.
The main driver behind this abnormal move was that large-whale accounts concentrated transfers of BTC to a certain major exchange; the All Exchanges Whale Ratio (EMA14) rose to a near-ten-month high, and sell pressure increased significantly in a short time, becoming a direct cause of the spot price decline.
GateNews9h ago
BTC falls below 75,000 USDT
Gate News bot message, Gate quotes show that BTC has fallen below 75,000 USDT, with a current price of 74,985.2 USDT.
CryptoRadar9h ago
