According to the Daily Planet, the power grid regulator in Texas, the United States, requested power cuts after the recent cold snap, causing the Bitcoin network computing power to drop by about 25% in the past few days. Texas is the global center of the Bitcoin mining industry.

Data from MiningPoolStats and Blockchain.com show that global hashrate estimates fell from about 600 EH/s last Friday to 450 EH/s on Tuesday, coinciding with a weather alert issued by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), the grid regulator for much of the state, from Jan. 14 to 17 due to extreme cold weather in the region.

ERCOT issued the warning, and officials issued calls for power conservation on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. "Due to continued cold temperatures, record-breaking demand and unseasonably low winds, operating reserves are expected to be low tomorrow morning," ERCOT said. "We ask Texas businesses and residents to conserve power when it is safe to do so." Yesterday's latest request for power curtailment ended at 9 a.m. Central Time.