Skip to main content

Chinese Investment in Bitcoin Mining is Enormous


In recent weeks, the People's Bank of China and various Chinese Bitcoin exchanges have played a tense game of back and forth negotiations, leading two exchanges to suspend Bitcoin withdrawals and causing the price of Bitcoin to plummet around the world. The Chinese government is interested in regulating the exchanges and keeping tighter control over information about customers and transactions. While this interplay is far from resolved, it is important to note as well that China is a major player in the Bitcoin market, and particularly when it comes to Bitcoin mining. What does this mean for the ongoing negotiations between Chinese exchanges and the Chinese government, as well as for the global Bitcoin market?

Mining Centers Flourish in and Around China

A report in the Washington Post in the fall of 2016 indicated that Chinese Bitcoin mines were popping up in Tibet, a perhaps unlikely destination. Mines require massive computer processing resources which are used to record and document all transactions. The process of mining itself requires that those computer processing plants address complicated mathematical problems in order to earn Bitcoins; the process of "mining" therefore addresses certain mathematical and programming issues while serving to introduce new currency into the global circulation.
So why would Tibet be such a hotbed of new Bitcoin mining activity? On one hand, Tibet is an extremely remote and seemingly unlikely place for such operations. On the other hand, though, China has traditionally set up a vast array of traditional mining operations in and around its western region. When the mining operations turned virtual thanks to cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Chinese entrepreneurs recognized that hydropower necessary to keep processing plants in operation was cheap, as was local labor.

Shifting Nature of Bitcoin

The wider world first noticed Bitcoin in connection with illicit markets like Silk Road, but the cryptocurrency has gradually eased into the mainstream. This has given rise to a new group of Bitcoin investors and miners: people with a knack for banking and investment who are treating Bitcoin as a new type of opportunity, rather than as a means of opposing the traditional system. As such, people interested in setting up mining operations are looking to areas that make the most business sense to do so, and China offers many such locations. As of late 2016, Chinese mines accounted for about 70% of all Bitcoin processing power, matching the Chinese share of the global Bitcoin exchange as well. Of course, this could change quickly if the Chinese government cracks down further on Bitcoin mining and exchanges in its country. For the time being, though China seems to be an increasingly important player in the world of Bitcoin mining and trading.


Read more: Chinese Investment in Bitcoin Mining is Enormous |

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

How Blockchain Could Help Tech Giant Cisco Reboot

Cisco is changing. The technology firm best known as the supplier of enterprise computer hardware has seen a slow, steady decline in revenue from some of its core products. As a result of an increasing number technological services being virtualized, and the storage of information moving to the cloud, the $158bn firm has been  restructuring  and exploring new ways to capitalize on connected devices. But amidst this change in identity, it's in identity itself where some of the California-based company's most interesting new experiments are taking place. With a series of early stage blockchain  projects , Cisco is now pushing even deeper into what could end up being much more than a way for employees to prove who they are across subsidiaries. In conversation with CoinDesk, Robert Greenfield IV, Cisco software engineer and executive team lead of the firm's Connected Black Professionals resource group, explained how several blockchain projects have evolv...
Post a Comment
Read more

Bitcoin in Africa: Insights from the Continent’s Biggest Bitcoin Exchange

Isn’t it absurd that nearly 326 million people representing 80% of the adult population in Africa do not have access to bank accounts? This wretched situation denies countless of people financial freedom in the so-called dark continent. Bureaucratic tenors and economic exclusion inter alia have paved the way for the current phenomenon. Last year a study of 10 African nations with unusual inflationary ratio had South Sudan registering an unimaginable inflation rate of 295 percent. Egypt had the slightest with 12.30 percent. African governments continue to plunder the riches of the African people through Inflation. This makes it considerably insurmountable for individuals to conserve their resources. Moreover, public sector borrowing has crowded out the efficient private sector that can put credit to good use. The IMF estimates that averagely credit to the private sector is estimated at 30 percent of GDP in Sub-Sahara Africa. CCN spoke to Werner van Rooyen, Head of Business Develo...
Post a Comment
Read more

WANT TO BUY BITCOIN IN SOUTH AFRICA , KENYA, UGANDA, NIGERIA, GHANA OR OTHER COUNTRIES IN AFRICA? SIMPLE.

With the growing awareness around Africa of bitcoin as a crypto-currency, a means of remittance and a creator of  wealth, more and more people in more and more countries are looking to buy it, and asking how and where they can buy it. Purchasing bitcoin is simple. Simply go online and do a search for “Buying and selling bitcoin in South Africa ““Buying and selling bitcoin in Kenya “Buying and selling bitcoin in Uganda ““Buying and selling bitcoin in Nigeria “ or  “Buying and selling bitcoin in Ghana“ – you get the idea.   To help you though:   In South Africa, three of the most common (and trusted) platforms are: www.localbitcoins.com www.luno.com www.bitx.co In Kenya, the most common (and trusted) platforms) are: www.localbitcoins.com www.bitpesa.co whilst other platforms include: www.altcoins.io www.99bitcoins.com In Uganda, the most common (and trusted) platforms) are: www.localbitcoins.com www.bitpesa.co whilst other platforms incl...
Post a Comment
Read more