A severe winter storm impacting the United States has significantly curtailed the hashrate of Foundry USA, a prominent digital asset advisory firm and operator of the world's largest Bitcoin mining pool. Since Friday, Foundry USA has experienced a roughly 60% reduction in its hashrate, according to TheMinerMag.

The decrease translates to a loss of nearly 200 exahashes per second (EH/s) on the Foundry USA pool alone. This curtailment has led to a temporary slowdown in block production, with average block times increasing to approximately 12 minutes. Despite the disruption, Foundry USA continues to command a substantial 198 EH/s of hashing power, representing about 23% of the global mining pool hashrate.

The ongoing winter storm, identified as Winter Storm Fern, is sweeping across the United States, leaving over 1 million residents without power. TheMinerMag reports that other mining pools serving users in the U.S., including Luxor, have also been affected by power restriction measures. These curtailments are a response to the strain on energy grids, as miners adjust their energy consumption to alleviate pressure on infrastructure during peak demand.

Bitcoin miners can act as a controllable load resource, balancing the energy grid by adjusting their energy needs based on demand. They can power on their machines when demand is low, absorbing excess energy, and power down during peak demand, allowing energy to flow to consumers. Too much energy within an electrical grid system can damage energy infrastructure during times of low demand, and must be safely dumped to prevent harm to grid components and individuals.

Foundry USA, established in 2020 as a subsidiary of Digital Currency Group (DCG), has become a leading Bitcoin mining pool in North America. The company provides reliable, institutional-grade services to miners. Foundry USA Pool provides a trusted and reliable infrastructure that contributes to the decentralization of Bitcoin's hashrate. It has a focus on security and reliability and maintains SOC compliance and KYC for its Bitcoin mining pool members.

The reduction in hashrate among U.S. miners due to the winter storm may lead to a negative difficulty adjustment in the Bitcoin network. As mining profitability decreases in regions with significant hashrate, the network's difficulty adjusts to maintain consistent block times.