Bitcoin Hashrate Recovers After Winter Storm Sparked Chaos

Bitcoin hashrate recovered at full speed after a 35% drop, while the miners are in deep water with over $4 billion in liabilities.

During the weekend, American Bitcoin miners had to shut down their operations due to a winter storm that killed at least 34 people. The rigs were shut down due to frequent power outages that also caused over 1.4 million houses to live in the dark, with Christmas around the corner.

Bitcoin Hashrate Recovers at Full Speed

After the sharp dip in Bitcoin hashrate from 232 EH/s to a bottom of 156 EH/s on Saturday, the Bitcoin hashrate has been recovering at full speed. It now stands at around 247 EH/s.

According to Investopedia, the Hash rate measures the computational power in a proof-of-work (PoW) cryptocurrency network. The hash rate is used to determine the health, security, and mining difficulty of a blockchain network.

Miners Saved Texas’ Grid?

While some miners had to turn off their rigs due to power outages, the miners in Texas voluntarily turned off their setup in collaboration with the state. 

Also, earlier in February, miners willingly chose to power down their operations to help the authorities conserve energy. Dennis Porter, the CEO and Co-founder of the Satoshi Action Fund claims that Bitcoin miners are good for the grid.

Bitcoin’s Decentralization at Question

Bitcoin hashrate is one of the most important measures of the network’s security. A 35% hashrate drop, even for a short period, compromises the security of the Bitcoin network. 

With this hashrate dip, the community feels it is wrong if bad weather on a small territory shuts down nearly half of the network.