China's Bitcoin Crackdown Shifted the Mining Landscape
Back in September 2019, Bitcoin miners in China accounted for a massive 76 percent of all computer energy used in the mining of the cryptocurrency. Since the country's crackdown on crypto though, the landscape has been dramatically changed. In the same month of 2019, miners with IP addresses in the United States were using just 4.1 percent of computer energy - the so-called 'hashrate'. Fast forward to the summer of 2021 and the U.S. is suddenly the number one consumer of Bitcoin energy, making up over a third at 35 percent with China's share crashing to 0.0 percent.
Data from the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance shows that also making a significant shift is Kazakhstan. In September 2019 the nation's hashrate was just 1.4 percent. With China no longer officially a player in the industry, neighboring Kazakhstan now has a rate of 18.1 percent. Highlighting Kazakhstan's new-found importance, the current political unrest in the country and a subsequent internet shutdown has been strongly linked to the most recent Bitcoin price crash.
The Rise and Fall and Rise of Bitcoin
Despite being the biggest and most significant cryptocurrency, Bitcoin is still famously susceptible to dramatic rises proceeded by equally rapid falls. Having surged to an all-time high of over $60 thousand in April 2021, Bitcoin plunged to around the $30 thousand mark at the end of July. Instability and crypto go hand in hand though, and the Bitcoin roller coaster raced skyward again soon after, with the record-breaking price of over $67 thousand hit in Early November.
The yo yo gave in to gravity again at the beginning of 2022, fueled largely by the political unrest and protests in Kazakhstan and the subsequent internet shutdown. What does the situation in Kazakhstan have to do with the Bitcoin? Since China's crackdown on the currency, its neighbor has risen to become the second biggest player in the Bitcoin mining landscape, accounting for 18.1 percent of all global computing power used for the activity.
The yo yo gave in to gravity again at the beginning of 2022, fueled largely by the political unrest and protests in Kazakhstan and the subsequent internet shutdown. What does the situation in Kazakhstan have to do with the Bitcoin? Since China's crackdown on the currency, its neighbor has risen to become the second biggest player in the Bitcoin mining landscape, accounting for 18.1 percent of all global computing power used for the activity.
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