For the first time ever, the US has become the top destination for Bitcoin miners, replacing China which was formerly the hub of Bitcoin mining activities. China has been operating strict laws against cryptocurrencies and has even declared them illegal. It is only natural that the country loses its top stop as the one-stop destination for Bitcoin miners. Data from Cambridge University released today crowns the US as the top destination for Bitcoin miners, thereby making what has always been a notion official.
China which was formerly a haven for Bitcoin miners became a literal hell following the series of crackdown actions that forced these miners to either shut down operations or move out of the country. Thanks to these, the US has taken to the forefront of the mining industry.
China’s crackdown actions against Bitcoin mining (and trading) wiped off more than $300 billion from the cryptocurrency market. Bitcoin miners have fled the country since the actions started, and now that cryptocurrencies have been declared illegal, there is no place for them to thrive in China. A lot of these miners who “escaped” China’s “anti-cryptocurrency” laws have ended up in the US. The migration has been dubbed as “the great mining migration”.
The whole notion that Bitcoin is being controlled by China has now become a fallacy as China no longer holds the highest percentage of the market also. London-based fintech data analyst Boaz Sobrado concluded that “the whole narrative that China controls Bitcoin is now completely destroyed”.
Miners have moved or are moving to the US for a number of obvious reasons. A handful of American states have some of the world’s cheapest energy prices. This alone is enough to entice any miner. Asides from this, the US flourishes with renewable power sources and is therefore not dependent on one or a few power sources. While one of the huge concerns as to Bitcoin mining remains the effect it has on the environment, mining activities by miners have begun to sh0ow positive effects on the environment and prevent wastage of resources.
Some miners have started to harness nuclear energy. Others are leveraging stranded energy such as natural gas going to waste in oil fields across the state of Texas. These help to combat the effect o0f greenhouse emissions and at the same time provide a source of mining power for miners.
Another important reason why miners are moving to states like Texas in the US is that they have cryptocurrency-friendly laws and policies. These are like open arms for miners, encouraging them to come to settle in such a state. Co-founder of Core Scientific said that “If you’re looking to relocate hundreds of millions of dollars of miners out of China, you want to make sure you have geographic, political, and jurisdictional stability. You also want to make sure there are private property rights protections for the assets that you are relocating”.
The US promises to be a better haven for Bitcoin mining activities but miners hope that this does not take a U-turn and become the case of China. It is also pertinent to know that the US is not the only country that is welcoming Bitcoin miners into its shores. Kazakhstan is another country where Bitcoin miners have found a haven for their mining operations. In fact, the country is behind the US in terms of its share of the global Bitcoin mining market.
