Bitcoin Hashrate Shifting To The US After China Ban

As Ki Young Ju notes, Bitcoin mining activity is shifting to the United States, though Chinese miners still dominate.

Bitcoin mining activity is shifting to the United States, but Chinese miners still dominate the industry.

According to data from X, the founder of CryptoQuant, a crypto analytics platform, more United States mining pools are gaining market share from their Chinese counterparts.

This shift is evident in the changing Bitcoin hash rate dominance, which indicates the relative contribution of different mining pools to the total network hash rate.

As of September 23, Chinese Bitcoin mining pools controlled 55% of all Bitcoin hash rates. At the same time, those operating from inside the United States control 40% of the total.

This means that the two countries dominate all Bitcoin mining activities, controlling 95% of all hash rate—a huge risk to the operation and security of the blockchain.

Bitcoin is secured by distributed and decentralized miners who often channel their computing power (hash rate) to a pool for a chance to win block rewards. These miners have to purchase gear and meet all operational costs.

But as an incentive, the network distributes 3.125 BTC and the associated block fees roughly every 10 minutes to the successful mining pool or miner. In this way, the network remains secure and, in theory, equally decentralized.

The shift in hash rate dominance coincides with the changing regulatory landscape for crypto mining in China. In May 2021, the Chinese government banned all crypto mining and staking forms.

The government cited various concerns, including the difficulty in curbing financial crime and sealing capital flight due to the Pro-crypto stance and favorable regulations in the United States.

At the same time, the Chinese government alleged that crypto and Bitcoin would destabilize the economy.

Following this, most Chinese miners were forced to shut down operations and relocate to other regions. Most found themselves in the United States and Kazakhstan.

Although there are still pockets of mining activity in China, crypto mining in the United States is booming.

Some of the top public crypto mining firms mining thousands of BTC annually include Marathon Digital and Riot Platforms.

Meanwhile, more independent miners are connecting to United States-based mining pools. According to Mempool.space, Foundry USA is the largest mining pool, contributing over 30% of the hash rate.

In June, Donald Trump, the Republican Presidential nominee, met with crypto mining executives in Florida.

During the private meeting, it was reported that Trump said his administration, if elected, would ensure the sector is treated fairly.