The rapid growth of Bitcoin’s (BTC) hashrate, or the network’s computing power, may finally slow down as extreme summer heatwaves force miners to curtail operations. This development could provide some relief to miners who have been grappling with shrinking profit margins in an increasingly crowded sector, exacerbated by the halving event that cut mining rewards by 50% while the hashrate continued to climb to new all-time highs.

One of the main drivers of the increasing hashrate has been the activation of previously purchased mining rigs, along with miners upgrading their fleets with more efficient machines to remain profitable post-halving. For instance, on May 25, the hashrate reached a record high of 658 exahash per second (EH/s), according to data from Luxor’s Hashrate Index.

However, the relentless growth in hashrate is expected to decelerate over the next few months as North America enters the summer season, bringing with it intense heatwaves. Miners use powerful machines that generate significant heat during their operations. Heat mitigation becomes a critical operational challenge, particularly in the summer when additional power is required to cool the equipment, or operations must be shut down due to high energy demands from residential air conditioning use.

During the summer, many miners are forced to reduce operations, not only because of overheating but also due to demand response clauses in their power purchase agreements, which are activated when residential energy consumption spikes. This seasonal trend has led to lower hashrate during the past two summers, subsequently decreasing the difficulty of mining Bitcoin blocks.

As of June 17, the hashrate has already begun to decline from its all-time high in March, dropping by 10% to 589 EH/s, according to Hashrate Index data. Since a significant portion of Bitcoin miners are based in the United States, particularly in hot regions like Texas, the shutdown of North American operations is likely to impact hashrate growth substantially. Data from the University of Cambridge indicates that approximately 37% of all Bitcoin mining occurs in the U.S., making heat-induced curtailments a significant factor.

The reduced hashrate and difficulty could be beneficial for some miners, as it lowers competition during the summer. Additionally, some miners, such as Riot Platforms (RIOT), can earn extra income from the power grid by curtailing their operations as part of their power purchase agreements.

If the hashrate continues to decline, miners might benefit from a negative difficulty adjustment, potentially easing their operational challenges in the short term.