#BTCMiningDifficultyDrops

The recent drop in Bitcoin hashrate has become one of the most notable developments at the beginning of 2026. Here is a detailed analysis of the current situation.
〽️Current Situation (as of February 9, 2026)
Network hashrate is fluctuating between ≈ 976–1,064 EH/s (daily fluctuations according to sources: CoinWarz shows ~976 EH/s, YCharts shows 1,064B TH/s ≈ 1,064 EH/s)
A decline of around 15–20% from the October 2025 peak (1.1+ ZH/s levels)
Sharp declines have been observed in the last 7–10 days (daily losses of 10%+ on some days)
Lowest point: short-term drop to ~850–900 EH/s levels (due to the impact of the winter storm in the US)
Why Was Such a Sharp Drop Occurred? Multiple factors came into play simultaneously:
Bitcoin price crash
October 2025 peak ~$126,000 → February 2026 low ~$60,000–63,000
50–52% value loss
→ Most miners remained below their break-even cost ($70,000–$90,000 range)
Hashprice at record low
Daily revenue per PH/s collapsed from $70 to $32–35 range (all-time low)
→ Immediate shutdown decision for miners with high electricity costs or using inefficient machines
Extreme cold weather and Winter Storm Fern in the US
Power grid restrictions and mandatory shutdowns in many states
Large mining facilities, especially in Texas and the Midwest, were affected
→ Created an additional 10–20% hashrate loss in the short term
Capitulation of low-efficiency machines
Older generation ASICs (S19 series, etc.) and high electricity cost operations Closed
Some miners have started moving their machines to AI data centers
Difficulty Adjustment Effect
Adjustment that took place on February 7-8, 2026: -11.16%
New difficulty level: 125.86 T
Largest negative adjustment since the 2021 China ban (one of the top 10 negative adjustments in history)
Block times had extended to 11.4 minutes before the adjustment → now approaching ~10 minutes again
What to Expect in the Short and Medium Term? Next difficulty adjustment: ~February 19-20, 2026
Predictions: Increase between +3% and +14% (most sources expect ~+10-12%)
→ Will indicate that the hashrate is starting to stabilize and some miners are coming back online
Positive aspect: Lowering the difficulty increases the chance of remaining miners finding blocks → income per unit of hashrate increases
Risk: If the BTC price stays below $60,000 for a long time, a second wave of shutdowns may occur.
🤔This drop actually shows that Bitcoin's automatic balancing mechanism is working:
Weak hands are eliminated → the network continues with more efficient miners → security and sustainability increase in the long term. Do you think the hashrate will recover quickly after this level, or will we not see a serious jump until the price rises above $80,000? I'm curious about your opinions!