China's share of global Bitcoin mining has effectively fallen to zero, research by the Cambridge Bitcoin Electricity Consumption Index has found.
In June, China told banks to stop facilitating transactions and issued bans on all cryptocurrency mining. More recently, China has declared all Bitcoin transactions illegal.
At its peak in September 2019, China accounted for over three-quarters (75%) of all Bitcoin mining in the world.
The latest data, which covers the four months through the end of August, suggests that most Bitcoin mining (35.4%) is now based in the U.S., with Kazakhstan (18.1%) second and Russia (11%) third.
The decline of China as a cryptocurrency mining powerhouse has been unexpected and rapid. On the flipside, Kazakhstan has welcomed cryptocurrency mining companies and is cashing in.
Kazakhstan has more than doubled its contribution to cryptocurrency mining since April of this year. According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, 87% of Kazakhstan's electricity “is generated from fossil fuels” with coal accounting for more than 70% of generation.
