bitcoin Mining is experiencing a significant resurgence in China despite the activity being formally banned in 2021, according to Reuters.
After almost disappearing from the global scene, China has risen back to third position with an estimated 14% share of global mining in October, according to Hashrate Index.
This resurgence is driven by miners and companies quietly operating in regions with abundant and cheap electricity, particularly Xinjiang, where excess energy and rapid construction of data centers create favorable conditions.
Miners told Reuters that surplus electricity in places such as Xinjiang and Sichuan is spurring new underground projects and some former miners have returned. Data provider CryptoQuant estimates that between 15 and 20% of global mining capacity now operates in China.
According to the article, Canaan, a major producer of mining rigs, has seen a strong rebound in domestic sales, helped by higher bitcoin prices and uncertainty around US tariffs that slowed foreign demand.
Although the Chinese government has not publicly changed its stance, its approach appears to be softening. Hong Kong’s stablecoin legislation and discussions around yuan-backed stablecoins suggest a more flexible outlook on digital assets.
Hashprice hits all-time low
The Bitcoin hash price fell to a new all-time low on Friday. This metric represents the income a miner can expect to earn from a given amount of hashrate. According to Luxor, the hash price fell to $34.2 PH/s.
Hashprice is determined by four main factors which are network difficulty, bitcoin price, block subsidy and transaction fees.
Hashprice generally rises when the price of bitcoin or fee volume increases, and falls when mining difficulty increases.
Since Bitcoin is down more than 30% from the October peak, combined with moderate transaction fees and a network hashrate just above one zettahash (10% below recent highs), it has driven miners’ income to new lows. The next difficulty adjustment is expected on Wednesday and is expected to decrease by just over 2%.
