Tech

The ‘great exodus’ of bitcoin miners is already halfway done

China had dealt bitcoin mining a severe blow, shutting down crypto farms on its soil. The miners, however, seem to have quickly found new drop-offs.

What happens to bitcoin miners? Spring has been painful for the crypto community. China, which was home to the majority of bitcoin farms (between 65 and 75% of global mining) took drastic measures against these activities in June. After strengthening regulations in this area, it decided to… cut off electricity to minors. Shock measures which were a real earthquake in the sector. Since then, the geography of mining has been completely reconfigured, with miners looking for more welcoming destinations. This is what some bitcoin enthusiasts call the “great exodus”.

And according to the latest figures, this migration is progressing rapidly. One of the indicators that allows us to see this is the global hashrate of bitcoin, that is to say the computing power assigned to the mining of this cryptocurrency in the world. This had fallen dramatically, dropping from 180 EH / s (exahash per second) in mid-May to 90 EH / s at the beginning of July. However, it has rebounded significantly since: on September 9, 2021, it was at 135 EH / s, reveals the specialized media The Block. This means that the miners are gradually reconnecting to the network and that it has already recovered half of what it had lost, following pressure in China.

More welcome in China, bitcoin miners are moving their crypto farms. // Source: Lucas George Wendt / Unsplash

The miners turn their machines back on

It is true that many countries have shown a strong interest in cryptocurrencies. American states have stepped up to attract companies specializing in cryptocurrency mining. Texas has, for example, passed favorable regulations on this subject. El Salvador has rolled out the bitcoin red carpet by passing a law that is extremely favorable to it: the country has thus become the first state in the world to recognize it as an official currency. A very risky bet, but with which President Nayib Bukele hopes to attract investors.

Many bitcoin miners have also put their bags down in Kazakhstan. An unsurprising choice given the country’s geographic proximity to China, but unfortunately very negative from an environmental point of view. Bitcoin mining does indeed consume a lot of electricity, but in Kazakhstan this is mainly produced by coal-fired power stations. This means that bitcoin mining in this country will generate a lot of greenhouse gases.

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