Bitcoin miners are shifting to America

China hosted roughly 70% of the world’s bitcoin mining activities in early 2021. When China began cracking down on bitcoin mining in May, markets plummeted. Six months later, China no longer holds the bulk of global mining power, and as mining has expanded around the world, North American miners are gaining ground quickly.

• There was a sharp decline in Bitcoin’s total mining power or “hash rate,” as China declared a ban, however, climbing more than 50% since June as more miners from North America are shifting online. Simultaneously, the mining power of Ethereum has reached its new all-time highs, owing to the growth of NFTs and DeFi.
• North America has added roughly 40% of its total Bitcoin mined in 2021 in just the last two months. Stockpiles of over 18,000 Bitcoin (worth over $800 million) are presently held by publicly traded mining businesses in North America.
• Renewable energy is becoming more important to North American miners. Hut 8, the company with the highest Bitcoin holdings, is constructing a massive mining operation in Alberta, Canada. It will run on natural gas that would otherwise be discarded. Argo, a mining company that plans to go public on the Nasdaq, has purchased two hydroelectric-powered data centers.
• The world’s largest financial institutes are showing interest in Bitcoin mining. There was a recent partnership initiated between Blockstream and Australian investment-banking giant Macquarie to construct a mining plant in North America that is powered by renewable energy. Nearly $400 million is being invested in North American mining companies by BlackRock, the world’s largest financial firm.

Since the Bitcoin network is no longer centered in a single place, the mining landscape has shifted recently, making it more secure. And, in North America, miners often discover that the cheapest accessible energy is also the most environmentally friendly. Crypto can motivate firms to create more green infrastructure by maintaining strong markets for renewable energy, lowering the cost of clean energy even further.