The severe cold weather in the United States has reduced the difficulty of bitcoin mining for the first time in four months
Due to the cold wave in the United States, the increase in electricity prices has led to the first reduction in the difficulty of bitcoin mining since the end of September 2024. According to the statistics of bitcoin mining company Luxor, the United States accounts for 36% of the global bitcoin hashrate, of which Texas contributes nearly half. The polar cold snap in January caused the cost of electricity in the United States to rise, and mining companies' profits were frustrated. Mining difficulty was reduced on January 27. The previous six months, mining difficulty had only dropped twice. Luxor expects that as the temperature warms up, hashrate will gradually return to stability. In addition, some US mining companies, such as Riot Platforms, are planning to shift some of their computing power to AI and high-performance computing businesses to reduce the risk of market volatility.