- Despite a 2021 ban, China continues to lead in Bitcoin mining hashrate distribution.
- The US, Kazakhstan, and Russia are experiencing growth in mining activities, with the US share increasing steadily.
- CryptoQuant’s CEO highlighted that US miners are mostly institutional, contrasting with China’s smaller-scale operations.
- The rivalry in crypto policies between the US and China could benefit the global industry, as other countries also vie for a share.
Despite a 2021 ban on crypto mining, the Chinese Bitcoin mining scene continues to lead in terms of hashrate distribution.
A recent CryptoQuant report shows that China still contributes 55% to Bitcoin’s global hashrate, which represents a substantial drop, as many miners have relocated due to the ban, thus reducing China’s dominance in Bitcoin mining.
Related: US Federal Judge Grills SEC Over Refusal to Define Simple Questions About BTC, ETH
However, since China’s crackdown, countries like the United States, Kazakhstan and Russia have seen growth in mining activity.
Founder and CEO of CryptoQuant, Ki Young Ju, wrote in a post on X, that the US share of pools is steadily increasing. And US miners are largely institutional miners whereas Chinese miners usually operate on a smaller scale.
China-US Crypto Rivalry Good for Industry, Says Justin Sun
With US influence over crypto mining increasing and a potential Donald Trump election win bringing a more pro-crypto environment in the currently crypto-hostile US, some have called for China to step up its crypto game.
Trump, who until a few months ago was anti-crypto, has recently been very accepting of Bitcoin and Co. At some point, he even promised to “stockpile” BTC and on other occasions has said that he’d pay US debt with crypto.
This got Tron founder Justin Sun’s attention who said amid “warming US policies” China should step up its game, adding that “Competition between China and the U.S. in Bitcoin policy will benefit the entire industry”.
US, China Dominate, But Other Countries Eager to Have a Slice of The Crypto-Pie
While the two countries undoubtedly dominate Bitcoin hashrate, their stance on crypto overall – with China’s ban and the current “regulating by enforcement” situation in the US – other countries are not sitting on their hands when it comes to crypto.
Hong Kong, for example, not only allowed the trading of Spot Bitcoin and Ethereum exchange-traded funds (ETFs) recently, but is also advancing regulation on artificial intelligence (AI) which is hoped to improve the crypto and traditional finance sectors.
Related: ASIC Says All Crypto Start-Ups Must Have Financial Services Licence
And amid ongoing sanctions against Russia, that country has also moved to embrace crypto, commencing trials on cross-border payments and approving crypto mining, following years of bans.
Also not to forget Bhutan, as reported earlier, the South Asian Buddhist kingdom, is now one of the largest Bitcoin holders. CNA reported that the country now holds a staggering 13,011 BTC, valued at around US$820 million (AU$1.19 billion) at today’s prices.
Overall, this shows increasing acceptance of crypto by trad-Fi, institutional investors and governments. It will be interesting to see what the response by China and the United States will be and if they can continue with their dominance over the sector, going forward.
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