usethebitcoin.com
China has always been considered the epicentre of Bitcoin (BTC) mining activities. Indeed, reports suggest that China centralizes over 60% of the total Bitcoin mining hash rate. This is certainly something that could harm the entire Bitcoin network. Nonetheless, the cryptocurrency analyst PlanB considers that there are other countries increasing their hash rate, which could eventually end up surpassing China.
Mining Hash Rate Centralization
China is certainly one of the most important countries in the world for the Bitcoin network. Analysts are always trying to understand how this country could influence the market and the entire Bitcoin network. One of the most important things is related to miners and how mining power is centralized in China.
Everyone can be a Bitcoin miner, indeed, you could certainly start mining BTC if you have the necessary equipment (ASIC miners). These machines are costly and would not be efficient to keep them inside a room without noise isolation and cooling systems. This is why the most efficient mining farms are those that operate at a larger scale.
Moreover, China has somehow cooler weather than many other countries. That means that miners operate in a more efficient way and they can reduce the energy for cooling systems. Furthermore, low electricity prices will be certainly important for miners to operate efficiently. All these things are now provided by China, and that’s making many crypto enthusiasts worried.
PlanB explained that most added hash power was in the United States and Canada, and in his opinion, China is going to be overtaken soon, if this already didn’t happen.
No. Most added hashpower was in the US & Canada. IMO China will be overtaken soon (if not already)
— PlanB (@100trillionUSD) April 25, 2020
China has many advantages compared to other countries to mine cryptocurrencies. This is reflected in the large number of miners that are now operating in the country. If enthusiasts are waiting for hash rate to move from China, other jurisdictions must gain advantages over China.
Hash rate distribution is also showing that several mining pools operate from China, including the largest mining pool called F2Pool. This is according to data provided by Blockchain.com.
It may take some time before China is overtaken by other countries in terms of mining activities. As mentioned before, other countries should start offering better advantages to miners than China, which may not happen in the near future. Nonetheless, if there is a real threat to the Bitcoin network, users can easily acquire mining rigs and start mining as well.