Bitcoin Miners Save Texas Grid from Collapse

Texas's power grid narrowly avoided collapse last week when Bitcoin miners, who have partnered with the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), curtailed their energy usage during peak demand periods.

This wasn't the first time that ERCOT has relied on voluntary agreements with large customers, including crypto mining facilities and data centers. The Energy Information Administration describes these agreements as primarily made with crypto mining facilities.

During last week's heat wave, the daily revenue earned by miners from a petahash per second of computing power (hashprice) recovered to around $32, up from its 2026 low of $27.20 in early June but still below the record high of $49.40 reached in October.

When mining revenue is weak, shutting down becomes more cost-effective for miners since the Bitcoin they miss out on during those hours is worth less.