Bitcoin’s Woes: It’s Just Cold, Really

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One observes, with a certain weary resignation, the current state of affairs concerning this… ‘Bitcoin.’ It seems the digital calculations, the very horsepower, as the Americans so crudely put it, of the network has suffered a rather noticeable decline since its autumnal peak. A decline, one might add, not brought about by some grand philosophical shift in the world’s economic order, but by… ice. Yes, ice.

A certain Mr. ‘Darkfost’ – a name evocative of shadowy corners and perhaps a predilection for excessively strong tea – informs us that this ‘hashrate,’ as they term it, has descended from a respectable 1.133 ZH/s to a rather paltry 690 EH/s in a mere two days. One wonders if Mr. Darkfost issued this proclamation whilst huddled over a samovar, bemoaning the general absurdity of it all.

Blockchain.com, ever eager to offer its own assessment, reports a somewhat loftier figure, a fleeting illusion of strength. But, as any seasoned observer knows, these ‘moving averages’ are, alas, often lagging indicators – the echoes of a past vigor, rather than a present reality.

The Tempest and the Turbine

It appears a most inclement winter storm has descended upon the United States, a nation harboring, it is said, roughly one-third of these peculiar ‘Bitcoin mining operations.’ The cold, it would seem, is proving most disruptive. Particularly in Texas, a land of vastness and, it now transpires, vulnerability to frozen precipitation. The major players – MARA and Foundry Digital, names that lack any literary resonance, one must confess – have been compelled to cease their operations.

The power grids, incapable of withstanding such a minor meteorological event, falter. Electricity, that essential commodity, becomes dearer; block times, longer. A reduction in mining difficulty – around 4.5%, the analysts predict – is expected. Such delicate systems, built upon intricate calculations, undone by a simple show of sleet!

The Department of Energy, in a display of bureaucratic agility, has issued emergency orders, allowing the Texas operators access to additional – and no doubt costly – backup resources. And our Mr. Darkfost darkly warns of the possibility of further selling pressure, should these miners find themselves in need of funds to survive the ordeal. Necessity, it seems, knows no ideology, not even that of decentralized currency.

“This period of stress could even trigger some BTC selling if the storm were to persist, as miners may still need to cover fixed operating costs while waiting for conditions to normalize.”

One finds a rather dreary predictability in the assertion that falling hashrates mirror declining prices. A sympathetic dance, perhaps, of mutual misfortune. The ‘network hashprice,’ a metric of dubious meaning, has also plummeted, resting now at a mere $0.039 per TH/s per day. A scarcely profitable existence, one might observe.

Watching a multi-hundred exahash drop in hashrate not only shows how much of it is located in the Southern and Southeastern US, but also how much there is to be sold off should AI replace those facilities.

– Rob Warren (@robertwarren) January 26, 2026

A Chill Wind Blows

And as if this digital drama were not sufficient, the Bitcoin has witnessed no appreciable recovery this week. A momentary flicker of hope – a reclaimed $88,500 during the Asian trading session – quickly faded, leaving the asset down 4.5% from the previous week. It remains confined within the lower bounds of a three-month sideways drift, a melancholy state of affairs. Upside moves are, shall we say, limited. The prevailing sentiment, it seems, is one of… well, a rather pronounced chill.

Bitcoin’s Woes: It’s Just Cold, Really

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2026-01-27 10:29