FoundryUSA has curtailed roughly 60% of its mining hashrate since Friday in response to winter storm Fern, according to recent reports. That reduction equals a drop of nearly 200 exahashes per second (EH/s) from the pool and has coincided with a temporary slowdown in block production to about 12 minutes.
Foundry USA Hashrate Drop
TheMinerMag reported that FoundryUSA’s pool has cut around 60% of its hashing capacity since Friday as the severe storm moved across large parts of the United States. That reduction is described as nearly 200 EH/s and, despite the curtailment, FoundryUSA still commands about 198 EH/s of hashing power, which data from Hashrate Index shows represents roughly 23% of global mining pool hashrate.
Impact on Bitcoin Mining Pools
The curtailment has not been limited to FoundryUSA: other pools serving US miners, including Luxor, have also adjusted operations to ease local grid strain. Past regional disruptions have produced comparable hashrate shifts, see coverage of a hashrate drop in Xinjiang for background on how local events move pool shares and miner activity.
Changes at large pools can alter short-term block discovery patterns, as seen in the reported increase of average block time to 12 minutes during the curtailment period. For context on pool market share and concentration, read more about Foundry USA share.
Winter Storm Fern Overview
Weather coverage from The Weather Channel describes storm Fern as a broad system combining snow, ice and freezing rain across the Southeastern US, the Northeast and parts of the Midwest. The storm is reported to stretch roughly 1,800 miles and has left about 1 million residents without electrical power, driving miners in affected regions to reduce load to protect grid infrastructure.
Bitcoin Miners and Energy Grid Balance
Reports note that Bitcoin miners can act as a controllable load for the electrical grid: operators can reduce consumption during peak demand and power on when demand is low, helping to balance supply and prevent equipment stress. In the current winter storm, miners in affected areas have adjusted energy use to relieve local grid pressure, a role highlighted in coverage of the event.
Why this matters
If you run one to a thousand devices in Russia, the immediate technical effect on your rigs is likely indirect unless you mine with FoundryUSA or routes through US infrastructure. Still, a 60% cut at a major pool changes short-term block production and who finds blocks, which can influence payout timing for miners connected to that pool or dependent on global pool behavior.
What to do?
- Monitor your pool status and announcements — check for curtailment notices or changed payout patterns.
- Have a fallback pool or wallet plan ready so you can switch quickly if your primary pool reports prolonged issues.
- Keep mining firmware and monitoring tools up to date to spot unusual block-time changes or connectivity problems.
- Check local energy settings and duty cycles on your miners to avoid unintended strain during network-wide shifts in block production.
