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China dominates Bitcoin hashrate despite mining ban

Markets·September 23, 2024, 11:50 PM

While many people assumed that Bitcoin hashrate had moved overseas once China implemented a Bitcoin mining ban in 2021, miners within mainland China still dominate the activity.

 

55% of hashrate

That’s according to a report on X by Ki Young Ju, the founder and CEO of crypto data analytics firm CryptoQuant. Taking to the social media platform on September 23, the CryptoQuant CEO claimed that Chinese mining pools account for 55% of all Bitcoin mining activity. 

 

Since the 2021 ban, an increasing proportion of hashrate has been accounted for elsewhere, including the United States. Ju clarifies that U.S.-based mining pools now account for 40% of Bitcoin hashrate. He added:

”U.S. pools primarily cater to institutional miners in America, while Chinese pools support relatively smaller miners in Asia.”

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Shift towards U.S.-based mining

While the majority of Bitcoin mining is accounted for within China’s borders, Ju acknowledges a growing shift towards U.S.-based mining. Some commentators have speculated that while officially a ban was put in place, in reality the ban presented an opportunity to jettison inefficient mining equipment, selling it on overseas, while maintaining only the most efficient miners within China.

 

Others such as Daniel Batten, an advisor to Nasdaq-listed Bitcoin miner Marathon Digital, went further in suggesting that the reporting of a blanket ban on Bitcoin mining within China was misleading. Instead, he believes that mining was suspended for a time and then rebooted.

 

Taking to X in June, Batten wrote:

 

“Stop referring to it as a ban. It wasn't and it plays into [mainstream media] narratives of Bitcoin mining being unwelcome by nation states.”

 

At the time, rather than Ju’s 55%, Batten estimated that 15% of overall hashrate was accounted for by Chinese miners.

 

Profitability challenges

In the months following the halving of the Bitcoin mining reward, miners have been struggling to maintain profitability. Bitbo data indicates that miner revenue weighed in at $827.56 million in August, representing a 10.5% drop when compared with $927.35 million in July. The situation has raised questions about the ongoing sustainability of securing the Bitcoin network via the current mining model. 

 

Yet despite these adverse conditions, miners have been maintaining the high hashrate level. JPMorgan analysts recently indicated that the Bitcoin hashrate has recovered to pre-halving levels. A report by Decrypt earlier this month claimed that some miners are aggressively purchasing new mining equipment while maintaining significant holdings of Bitcoin rather than selling it off.

 

Alongside what was perceived to be a ban on Bitcoin mining in 2021, China prohibited the trading of cryptocurrencies. Notwithstanding that, it’s thought that many Chinese residents have access to crypto via bank accounts in Hong Kong, connected with global crypto exchanges.

 

Hong Kong is perceived to be China’s sandbox for crypto with many speculating that the current pro-crypto stance taken within the Chinese autonomous territory had been approved by the authorities in mainland China. Whether China will lift its ban on crypto trading remains the subject of ongoing speculation.

 

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