Bitcoin mining in China slumped even before Beijing crackdown, research shows
China’s share of global Bitcoin production power fell sharply even before a recent crackdown by its authorities on cryptocurrency mining, research by the University of Cambridge showed. The country’s share of the power of computers connected to the global Bitcoin network, known as “hash rate”, fell to 46 percent in April this year from 75.5 percent in September 2019, according to the data from the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance. The research gives a rare glimpse into global trends of Bitcoin mining, amid increasing worries from the likes of Tesla over how the cryptocurrency is produced. The decline in Chinese mining power came ahead of a crackdown by China’s state council, or cabinet, on Bitcoin mining and trading in late May, citing underlying financial risks. (Reuters)