China still dominates BTC mining despite blanket ban

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China still dominates BTC block reward mining despite banning the sector and a spirited campaign by the U.S. to take over from its bitter economic rival.

Data from CryptoQuant shows that China accounts for 55% of the BTC mining pool hash rate. The U.S. is second with 40%, with the Czech Republic a distant third with 2%. However, China’s share has been dipping progressively since 2021, while the U.S. has nearly tripled its share from 14% in mid-2021.

The data starkly contrasts the narrative that the U.S. has wrestled control of BTC from China. BTC miners and industry leaders in the U.S. have branded it the new place for miners, with the country now home to over a dozen publicly traded miners.

Marathon Digital (NASDAQ: MARA) leads the pack with a market cap of $4.8 billion, with other major players including Core Scientific (NASDAQ: CORZ), CleanSpark (NASDAQ: CLSK), Riot Blockchain (NASDAQ: RIOT), TeraWulf (NASDAQ: WULF), Cipher Mining (NASDAQ: CIFR), Bit Digital (NASDAQ: BTBT) and GRIID Infrastructure (NASDAQ: GRDI).

And while the U.S. dominates the institutional mining field, Chinese BTC mining pools are home to a larger retail market, says Ki Young Ju, the founder and CEO of CryptoQuant.

#Bitcoin hashrate dominance is shifting to U.S. mining companies.

Chinese mining pools operate 55% of the network, while U.S. pools manage 40%.

U.S. pools primarily cater to institutional miners in America, while Chinese pools support relatively smaller miners in Asia. pic.twitter.com/kepopLWBSD

— Ki Young Ju (@ki_young_ju) September 23, 2024

China’s dominance is at odds with the country’s crackdown on BTC miners. Before the mid-2021 ban on mining, the Asian nation contributed over 70% of the BTC hash rate. However, Xi Jinping’s administration has waged a war on miners since, with some provinces even setting up hotlines for the citizens to report illegal miners.

The mining ban pushed large-scale miners from China, with some seeking refuge in neighboring Kazakhstan while others fled to Russia. However, these new homes soon turned against the miners; Kazakhstan, for instance, started hiking energy prices for mining facilities to push them out of the country. In time, most of these miners relocated to the U.S., making it one of the biggest players in the sector.

BTC miners in the U.S. are betting on a Republican victory in the November polls to further cement their position in the country. Donald Trump has pledged to maintain the nation’s status as the ‘crypto capital’ if he defeats Democrat Kamala Harris.

In June, Trump described BTC mining as “our last line of defense against a CBDC…We want all the remaining Bitcoin to be MADE IN THE USA!!! It will help us be ENERGY DOMINANT.”

Trump’s BTC mining campaign faces resistance at the grassroots level, with locals in mining hotspots waging wars against them for noise pollution and energy consumption. The backlash from residents in some states like Arkansas has forced legislators to implement laws limiting access to energy and setting minimum proximity to residential areas.

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