- Chinese Bitcoin miners have started taking action over the latest Bitcoin mining ban
- Bitcoin miners have been either shutting down completely of packing up their gear and moving away
- Some Chinese Bitcoin miners are moving their gear all the way to America
It’s official – Chinese Bitcoin miners are on the move. After multiple bans that have either been ignored or reversed in due course, Chinese Bitcoin miners have finally met their match in the government’s latest edict and have begun packing up their ASIC miners and looking further afield. Some have gone as far as sending thousands of pounds of mining equipment all the way to America to continue operations, despite the costs being much higher than in their homeland.
China Finally Gets Serious
When the Chinese government announced yet another crackdown on crypto mining activity on May 18, many thought that it was one more in the litany of toothless attacks on Chinese Bitcoin miners that were never followed up with action. It soon became clear however that this was the real deal – the Chinese government’s concern over a monetary system outside of its control has reached breaking point, leading to them taking the strongest action yet.
This edict to ban all crypto mining operations was carried out under the pretense of tackling the country’s emissions, but the fact that hydroelectric powered Bitcoin miners were also targeted shows that this is not the case at all. Local governments in mining-heavy regions have been acting as the government’s bailiffs in this matter, with some working with energy companies to cut off power to Bitcoin miners if they didn’t leave the area.
Chinese Bitcoin Miners Moving to America
This has left the bigger operations with no choice but to do just that. Some Chinese Bitcoin miners have shut down operations entirely, but others, as reported by CNBC, are packing up their gear and shipping it out to pastures new, with the USA being one of the countries welcoming the exiled Chinese Bitcoin miners:
#China logistics firm in Guangzhou confirms to @CNBC it’s airlifting 3,000kg (6,600lbs) #bitcoin mining machines to Maryland, USA. Fenghua International advertises products delivered to door, tax on both ends cleared. Price per kilo: as low as $9.37! #cryptocurrencies pic.twitter.com/8yUjZjhpkk
— Eunice Yoon (@onlyyoontv) June 21, 2021
If anyone was under any illusions over the impact of Chinese Bitcoin miners being forced to down tools then the Bitcoin hashrate offers raw data on the situation:
How long Chinese Bitcoin miners will last in America given the higher operational costs and increasingly stiff competition remains to be seen, but with many opting to sell their bitcoin to move halfway across the world it’s pretty clear they are serious in their desires to keep going.
