The Bitcoin network hash rate has returned to regular levels again, days after sub-zero temperatures in the United States put a strain on the nation’s power grid, causing a temporary drop in the hash rate. .

In the days leading up to Christmas, chilling temperatures swept across the United States, causing millions to lose power and claiming at least 28 lives.

Bitcoin miners in Texas, which account for a significant portion of the country’s hashrate, have reportedly scaled back operations to bring power back to the grid, so residents can keep their homes warm.

The outages appear to have taken a toll on Bitcoin’s hashrate, which is typically around 225-300 Exahashes per second (EH/s). This fell to 170.60 EH/s on December 25.

However, as of December 26, the hashrate has returned to 241.29 EH/s. according to to the data from the CoinWarz hashrate mining calculator.

The Bitcoin hashrate is calculated by measuring the number of hashes produced by Bitcoin miners trying to solve the next block. is considered as a key metric to assess how secure the Bitcoin network is.

Recent events sparked a controversial declaration from FutureBit founder John Stefanop, who suggested that the drop in hashrate was due to several “highly centralized mines” in Texas shutting down at the same time.

“I know, it doesn’t change the fact that some big mines in Texas hit the whole network by 33%… everyone’s transactions now confirm 30% slower because the hashrate isn’t decentralized enough,” he said .

“If the hashrate was evenly distributed around the world by tens of millions of small miners instead of a few dozen massive mines, this event would not even have registered on the network,” Stefanop added.

Bitcoin bull Dan Held, however, refuted Stefanop’s view of the events, arguing that weather patterns do not mean centralized ownership or control.

According to according to the Cambridge Bitcoin Electricity Consumption Index, the United States accounts for 37.84% of the average monthly hashrate share. The top four states in the country for Bitcoin mining include New York, Kentucky, Georgia, and Texas, all of which suffered power outages due to the winter storm.

However, Dennis Porter, CEO of Bitcoin mining advocacy group Satoshi Action Fund, told his 127,400 Twitter followers on December 25 that while inclement weather, particularly in Texas, caused the 30 % of Bitcoin hashrate in the United States will go offline, the network “still works perfectly”.

More than 30% of #Bitcoin hashrate has gone offline due to extreme weather in Texas and yet the global #Bitcoin The network is still working perfectly.

Now imagine if Amazon or Google tried to shut down 1/3 of their data centers. pic.twitter.com/G49iqBZXDL

—Dennis Porter (@Dennis_Porter_) December 25, 2022

Cheap energy and favorable mining regulation in Texas have led to a Bitcoin mining boom in Texas in recent months, which is now home to some of the largest mining companies in the world.

Among the Riot Blockchain, Argo, Bitdeer, Argo, Compute North, Genesis Digital Assets and Core Scientific, which have It recently received a $37.4 million bankruptcy loan to stay afloat.

Related: ‘There’s a lot less land to go around’: Why White Rock established off-grid mining in Texas

However, recent weather events have only added to the list of headaches for Bitcoin mining companies.

The bear market has plagued Bitcoin mining companies to the tune of $4 billion in debt, according to recent data.

Many notable US-based mining companies have also filed for bankruptcy in recent months, while many other companies are approaching near insurmountable debt-to-equity ratios that require immediate restructuring.

Tragic weather events have not affected the price of Bitcoin (BTC) so far, which is currently priced at $16,826, down just 0.27 in the last 24 hours.