As China intensifies the ban on Bitcoin mining and trading, a Shenzhen mining firm is relocating mining machines to Kazakhstan.
NYSE-listed BIT Mining, formerly known as 500.com, has shipped the first batch of 320 cryptocurrency mining machines to Kazakhstan. A second and third batch, totaling 2,600 mining machines are expected to be delivered to Kazakhstan before July 1.
The move comes after one of BIT Mining’s subsidiaries in Sichuan received a notice that the state grid would cut its power supply by June 19. BIT Mining has since suspended the operations of that Sichuan subsidiary.
BIT Mining has accelerated its relocation plan from mainland China to Kazakhstan and Texas. It plans to ship its remaining mining machines to overseas data centers over the coming quarters.
Pivoting into Bitcoin mining last year, BIT Mining now owns the entire mining pool business operated under BTC.com. The BTC.com mining pool accounts for around 9% of the Bitcoin network’s total hash rate.
Local governments in China’s Yunnan, Inner Mongolia, Sichuan, Xinjiang and Qinghai, have recently ordered mining operations to shut down. The latest crackdown has caused Bitcoin’s hashrate to plummet.
Iran Seized Largest Number of Illegal Miners
China is not the only country tightening its crackdown on crypto mining operations due to power usage concerns.
In Iran, the local police have seized 7,000 crypto mining machines as their largest haul to date. Iran has announced a ban on crypto mining for four months since May. The move is a part of efforts to reduce the incidence of power outages during the summer months.
According to statistics, around 4.5% of all Bitcoin mining takes place in Iran, giving it hundreds of million dollars in revenue from cryptocurrencies.
The nation has accepted crypto mining in recent years, offering cheap power and requiring miners to sell their bitcoins to the central bank. The cheap state-subsidised power has attracted miners, particularly from China, to Iran.
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