China is a dominant force in the global Bitcoin mining industry. The country accounts for nearly 70% of the global Hash Rate. The recent announcement by the Chinese government is spreading uncertainty among leading crypto mining firms in the country.
According to the latest report published by Reuters, Bitcoin mining firms, Huobi Mall and BTC.TOP have suspended their crypto mining operations in China due to uncertain regulatory environment. Crypto mining firm, HashCow halted the purchase of new Bitcoin rigs.
Bitcoin mining companies in China are now planning to shift their operations to other countries due to the latest announcement by the government. BTC.TOP founder, Jiang recently mentioned in a blog that China will lose crypto computing power to other countries as a result of a crackdown.
“The prices of the Hong Kong-listed companies of OKEx and Huobi fell by 14.9% and 20.1%, showing the panic of stock investors before the Chinese government’s next policy. Huobi has already applied for multiple crypto funds. But, their listed companies do not include exchanges,” China’s Bitcoin and crypto analyst Wu Blockchain mentioned on Twitter.
Bitcoin Mining
The latest announcement by China came a few months after Iran announced a crackdown on Bitcoin mining. In January 2021, the country closed more than 1,600 unauthorized cryptocurrency mining farms. Government authorities around the world believe that the significant use of energy in Bitcoin mining is a major environmental concern. During an interview with Laura Shin and Francis Suarez, the Mayor of Miami, said that countries are mining Bitcoin with dirty energy.
“We have the ability to supply clean energy to Bitcoin mining centers and data centers. It would be to benefit the crypto community if we did more mining in the US because we produce clean energy,” Suarez said during an interview.
In March 2021, BTC miners around the world stopped selling the world’s largest cryptocurrency due to a dip in the price. Chinese Bitcoin miners have accelerated their accumulation over the last few months.
(Illustration: FortuneZ)
