Bitcoin’s Hashrate Crisis: US Cold Wave or Miner Rebellion?

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Bitcoin, that paragon of financial virtue, now finds itself in a quandary, its price languishing below the $88,000 threshold like a poet in a rainstorm. Fear and uncertainty, those eternal companions of the market, have cast their shadow over sentiment, rendering buyers as timid as a debutante at a ball. The selloff, a dramatic exit, has left price action in a state of arrested development, with buyers reluctant to plunge headlong into the fray and sellers, ever the opportunists, pressing rallies with the persistence of a nagging mosquito.

Enter Darkfost, the sage of the blockchain, who points to the hashrate, that fickle flame of mining activity, as a barometer of Bitcoin’s health. A sharp decline, he warns, is no mere fluctuation but a signal of miners voluntarily shutting down their rigs-often a harbinger of capitulation, that most tragic of market phenomena. Yet, this time, the narrative is as peculiar as a sonnet in a tavern.

Behold, the hashrate has plummeted from 1.133 ZH/s to 690 EH/s in two days-a drop so swift, it would make a magician weep. Such a contraction, though, defies the classic tale of economic despair. Instead, the culprit is as unexpected as a well-dressed bear in a teahouse: a cold wave, that most uninvited guest, has sent miners scurrying like mice in a frostbitten cellar.

Thus, the hashrate shock is not born of economic stress but of nature’s whims. A severe ice storm, that most theatrical of weather events, has gripped the United States, a nation that commands a third of Bitcoin’s mining might. The timing, as precise as a clockwork heart, suggests a meteorological coup rather than a financial surrender.

Hashrate Shock Linked To US Ice Storm, Not Miner Capitulation

Darkfost, ever the detective, reveals that the shutdowns coincide with a cold wave that has turned Texas into a frozen wasteland. A key hub for mining, Texas now resembles a snowbound village, its power grid strained to its limits. Major players, like MARA and Foundry Digital, find themselves in a Sisyphean struggle against the elements, their hashrate dwindling like a candle in a hurricane.

The cold, that relentless adversary, has forced grid operators to curtail power, while electricity prices spike like a lover’s sigh in a crowded room. For miners, this is a cruel irony: to operate is to risk, to shut down is to survive. And so, the rigs lie dormant, their silence a testament to nature’s dominion.

With block times stretching like a yawn and mining difficulty poised to dip, the next adjustment looms-a -4.54% dip that could send shockwaves through the market. Should the storm persist, some miners may be forced to sell BTC, their last resort, to fund their frozen ventures.

Bitcoin Medium-Term Structure Remains Under Pressure

Bitcoin, that mercurial lover, now trades around $87,850, a mere shadow of its former glory. The 3-day chart reveals a dance of uncertainty, with the price teetering on a knife’s edge. The broader structure, once a crescendo of optimism, now echoes the somber notes of a requiem, its peak near $125K a distant memory.

The moving averages, those fickle friends, now act as barriers. The 50-period, once a beacon, now looms as resistance, while the 100-period flattens, signaling a loss of momentum. The 200-period, a relic of past strength, remains a distant hope, its slope upward a faint echo of better days.

Price action, though compressed, lacks the fire of capitulation. Volatility, that lively companion, has dimmed, and volume, once a roaring tide, now whispers. For bulls, the $86K-$88K zone is a line in the sand; cross it, and the abyss beckons. A rebound above $90K-$92K, however, might yet reignite the flame of recovery.

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2026-01-28 05:11