U.S. becomes largest bitcoin mining center following China ban

Chinese authorities banned cryptocurrency mining earlier this year causing miners to shut up shop or move overseas.

Chain of block erupters used for Bitcoin mining is pictured at the Plug and Play Tech Center in Sunnyvale, California

A chain of block erupters used for Bitcoin mining is pictured at the Plug and Play Tech Center in Sunnyvale, Calif.

Stephen Lam / Reuters file

The United States has overtaken China to account for the largest share of the world’s bitcoin mining, data published on Wednesday by the U.K.’s Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance showed.

Chinese authorities banned the activity earlier this year causing miners to shut up shop or move overseas.

Power plant repurposed to mine bitcoin

July 4, 2021

02:26

China’s share of the power of computers connected to the global bitcoin network, known as the “hash rate”, fell to zero by July from 44 percent in May, the data showed.

The United States now accounts for the largest share of mining, some 35.4 percent of the global hash rate as of end-August, followed by Kazakhstan and Russia, the data showed.