For years China has served as the ultimate destination for bitcoin miners worldwide, but not anymore. Beijing’s officials have called a ban on cryptocurrency mining in the nation in May 2021 after years of supporting the bitcoin miners and leaving them undisturbed despite the nation’s restrictive policies against crypto mining. According to the Chinese authorities, digital currencies disrupt a nation’s economic order by facilitating illegal money laundering and asset transfers which are not desirable. Beijing analysts were also worried about the potential competition that cryptocurrencies bring against the digital Yuan, which might even be damaged by the power-seeking bitcoin mining business. Thus, Chinese authorities now want all the bitcoin miners out of the nation as soon as possible. This has led miners to abandon their operations in China and seek refuge overseas, starting from the US to Russia.
Nearly 75% of the world’s bitcoin mining operations were carried out in China in 4 provinces, namely Xinjiang, Sichuan, Inner Mongolia, and Yunnan. Sichuan and Yunnan lead the world with renewable hydropower resources, while Xinjiang and Inner Mongolia are home to coal plants. The ban on bitcoin mining in China would result in 90% of all mining industries in the nation going offline, according to a report published by OKEx.
The recent drawdown in crypto mining has already started in Inner Mongolia. Other provinces have been given 2 months to clear out their crypto mining operations and exit China as soon as possible. However, it is also true that the exodus, if it happens, will not be instantaneous because it would take miners some time to move out their machines from China or to liquidate their assets and take refuge elsewhere.
Among other countries giving refuge to these Chine fleeing mining industries, Alberta has been one of the preferred destinations for many. A small energy company based in Nevada called Black Rock Petroleum announced on July 15 that if the Chinese crypto mining exodus happens, it will relocate the major portion of its Bitcoin mining industry to the oil-rich province of Alberta in Canada.
Although China has not officially announced anything about this crypto exodus, leading miners like Alejandro De La Torre have already started to streamline their operations from China. Mining machines are selling like scrap metals, and overseas countries welcome crypto miners from China with open hands. Moreover, the best thing about bitcoin mining is that it is a portable market which means miners only need a computer and a robust internet connection to carry out their bitcoin mining operations. Therefore it does not matter where the miners are located. Therefore, any country that does not have any regulatory compliances against bitcoin mining and can supply portable crypto mining solutions in gas and oil facilities can set up the crypto mining industries seamlessly.
