US market shows clear concentration in hashrate following winter storm
Bitcoin network hashrate dropped 38.8% from its peak following a US winter storm, leaving Foundry USA with a 25.05% market share. Mining companies are increasingly pivoting to AI data centers to capture higher revenue per megawatt.
The Bitcoin network hashashrate dropped 38.8% from its Wednesday peak, falling from 253.88 exahashes to 155.28 exahashes on Saturday. This winter storm killed 32 people in the United States. Foundry USA saw its hashrate fall 60% since Friday, losing nearly 200 exahashes. The pool still holds 25.05% of the global market share with 227.3 exahashes. Riot Blockchain closed its Texas facility because of the extreme weather. Core Scientific expects production to slow as it participates in power curtailments to stabilize the electrical grid. Core Scientific filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last week. The storm projected an extension of 1,800 miles with power outages affecting more than 1 million residents.
Profit margins and the AI pivot
Hashprice sits at $39.25 per petahash per day. This value is lower than the $49 recorded in October 2025. The network difficulty is 127.45 trillion. Many companies move away from legacy mining to capture AI revenue. AI data centres trade at an average of $27 million per megawatt, while mining capacity trades for less than $3 million per megawatt. Core Scientific paid $41.9 million to cancel 15 exahashes of next-generation hardware. Keel stopped mining on June 29 and will record zero mining revenue in the third quarter. Cipher Digital expects to exit the mining market by the end of 2027. The US interconnection queue stands at roughly 2,600 gigawatts, which is more than the entire installed capacity of the country, as data centres account for 87% of the 410 gigawatt ERCOT large-load queue. You should note how these constraints change the value of energized sites. IREN expects its transition from mining to AI to be complete by December 31, 2026. IREN recorded $70.5 million in AI cloud revenue and $66.7 million in mining revenue. TeraWulf retired two miner buildings at Lake Mariner in the first half of 2026. Bitdeer holds 150 BTC, down from 1,502 a year earlier. HIVE sold 918 of its 1,004 coins mined in Q2. The network difficulty rose 1.31% on September 5, 2026. New mining rigs now have an ROI of about 1,000 days. Bitcoin reached $126,080 in October 2025. The market favors operators who pivot to AI and maintain low electricity costs.
Competition among major mining pools
| Pool | Market Share | Reported Hashrate |
|---|---|---|
| Foundry USA | 25.05% | 227.3 EH/s |
| AntPool | 21.57% | 195.7 EH/s |
| F2Pool | 16.44% | 149.2 EH/s |
| ViaBTC | 9.28% | 84.3 EH/s |
| SpiderPool | 7.16% | 65.0 EH/s |
| MARA Pool | 4.93% | 44.8 EH/s |
| SecPool | 4.55% | 41.3 EH/s |
| Luxor | 2.90% | 26.3 EH/s |
| OCEAN | 2.71% | 24.6 EH/s |
| BTC.com | 1.35% | 12.3 EH/s |
| BraiinsPool | 1.26% | 11.4 EH/s |
| Binance Pool | 0.97% | 8.8 EH/s |
| WhitePool | 0.19% | 1.8 EH/s |
AntPool holds 21.57% of the network hashashrate with 195.7 exahashes. F2Pool maintains 16.44% with 149.2 exahashes. ViaBTC provides 9.28% of the power with 84.3 exahashes. SpiderPool keeps 7.16% with 65 exahashes, and MARA Pool has 4.93% with 44.8 exahashes. SecPool has 4.55% with 41.3 exahashes. Luxor maintains 2.9% with 26.3 exahashes, and OCEAN controls 2.71% with 24.6 exahashes. BTC.com maintains 1.35% with 12.3 exahashes. BraiinsPool has 1.26% with 11.4 exahashes, while Binance Pool holds 0.97% with 8.8 exahashes. WhitePool has 0.19% with 1.8 exahashes. Block times averaged around 9 minutes 30 seconds over the last 24 hours. The Bitcoin price of $79,020 provides little relief for miners with high electricity costs. Will the network ever return to the 1.15 zetahash peak seen in 2025?
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