Bitcoin mining difficulty rebounds 15% as US miners recover from winter outages

CoinTelegraph

by Nate Kostar

February 20, 2026

AI-Generated Deep Dive Summary

Bitcoin’s mining difficulty increased by approximately 15% on February 20th, reaching 144.4 trillion, according to data from CoinWarz. This reversal came after a sharp decline of 11% earlier in the month, which was the most significant drop since China’s 2021 mining ban. The decrease in hash rate was primarily due to severe winter storms across the United States, which disrupted power grids and forced miners offline. Despite these challenges, some US miners managed to offset downtime by selling excess electricity back to the grid. Hash rate, a measure of the total computing power securing the Bitcoin network, dropped significantly following the storms. Foundry USA, the largest mining pool by hash rate, experienced a dramatic decline in computing power, falling from nearly 400 exahashes per second (EH/s) to about 198 EH/s during late January. This drop highlighted the vulnerability of mining operations to extreme weather events and power grid disruptions. The mining difficulty adjusts every 2,016 blocks, roughly every two weeks, to maintain Bitcoin’s block production near its 10-minute target. This adjustment mechanism ensures that the network remains secure and efficient, even during periods of fluctuating hash rates. The recent increase in mining difficulty reflects the partial recovery of hash rate following the storms, as miners gradually returned online. This situation underscores the importance of reliable energy infrastructure for Bitcoin mining operations. While some US miners adapted by selling electricity back to the grid during outages, the broader implications of extreme weather events on cryptocurrency networks are worth noting. The resilience of the Bitcoin network, despite these challenges, demonstrates its robustness and adaptability

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Originally published on CoinTelegraph on 2/20/2026