The US replaces China as the world's largest bitcoin miner - the US has become the world center for Bitcoin mining after a crackdown in China effectively eliminated the practice in the industry's former cradle.
At the end of August, America accounted for 35.4% of the global hash rate, a measure of the computing power used to extract digital currency, according to a Cambridge Center for Alternative Finance study published on Wednesday. That's more than double the activity seen in April.
The jump in the country's relative share has been driven by China's move to scale back industry to control financial risks. In the early days of Bitcoin in 2009, the Asian nation was the base for the largest miners harnessing cheap electricity from coal-fired and hydroelectric power plants.
Now, Beijing's intensive efforts to curb the cryptocurrency market, announced in May, are paying off. The observed share of Bitcoin mining in China has effectively hit zero, Cambridge researchers found. That's down from 75% in September 2019 when Cambridge began collecting data. This is also a marked decline from the 46% level reached in April this year.
There is a high probability that secret mining is still happening in China, but it is routed through a virtual private network that makes it appear like computers are operating in another country. Recent increases in hash rates in Ireland and Germany are likely the result of miners using VPNs or proxy servers, according to Cambridge research.
Miners are looking for cheap electricity and welcome the government to trigger a virtual currency boom that is near record highs again. The token is up more than 370% in the last year to trade around $54,650 with a total market value of around $1 trillion.