Bitcoin mining rebounds in China: Hashrate share has risen to second

Bitcoin mining rebounds in China: Hashrate share has risen to second

Bitcoin mining rebounds in China: Hashrate share has risen to second.

Last October, the United States overtook China as the global leader in cryptocurrency mining for the first time. Its share of the global bitcoin hashrate dropped to zero from 75% in September 2019, as China tightened its grip on the industry.

But the latest report from the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance (CCAF) shows a recovery in China between September and January 2021 – currently at 21.1%, second only to the US at 37.8%.

CCAF points out that China’s rise is due to covert mining operations. “Access to off-grid electricity and geographically dispersed small-scale operations is one of the primary means used by underground miners to hide their operations from authorities and circumvent bans,” the group said in a statement.

These numbers are based on an aggregation of geolocation data reported by partner mining pools. Since many miners in China may use foreign proxy services such as VPNs to hide their location, China’s share of the global Bitcoin hashrate may be higher than the report suggests.

It appears that the temporary decline in China is the result of miners going underground. “At this scale, finding existing or building new untraceable hosting facilities will take time,” CCAF said. It is likely that a non-small number of Chinese miners adapted quickly to the new environment to continue operating covertly, while using foreign proxy services to divert attention and censorship to hide their tracks. “

“As the ban is in place and over time, underground miners appear to have become more confident and appear to be satisfied with the protection provided by local proxy services,” the center added.

In the global hashrate list, China is followed by Kazakhstan with 13.22%, followed by Canada with 6.48%. In terms of U.S. states, Georgia leads with a 30.8% hashrate share, followed by Texas and Kentucky.