Mining data aggregators attribute a slump in Bitcoin’s hash rate to the end of the wet season in Sichuan, resulting in many bitcoin miners migrating to other jurisdictions. Thomas Heller of Bitcoin mining blog Hashr8 reported that roughly 22 exahashes per second (EH/s) of mining power had left the Bitcoin network, coinciding with the end of the season the previous day (based on weather forecasts). Kevin Zhang of mining-focused Digital Currency Group subsidiary Foundry also estimated a 20 EH/s drop, noting the seven-day average for Bitcoin’s hashrate was 132.9 EH/s while daily hash rate concurrently tagged 112.9 EH/s.
Sichuan is one of the world’s largest hubs for crypto miners.
The province of Sichuan in China is one of the world’s largest hubs for mining activity. Crypto miners flock there to take advantage of cheap hydro-electricity during the rainy season and then just as quickly leave. The most recent data from the University of Cambridge’s Bitcoin Electricity Consumption Index (BECI) estimates that the province represented 18.5% of the global hash rate as of April 2020, which was double the rate prior to the rainy season.
Sichuan represents 54% of global mining activity.
Heller had predicted that many miners operating in Sichuan were n relocating overseas or to the provinces of Xinjian or Inner Mongolia, representing 30.1% and 7.7% of global hash power in April, respectively. In 2018, it was estimated that most Chinese miners migrate to Sichuan for the rainy season from other parts of the country. According to the CoinShares data, it was estimated that Sichuan represents 54% of global crypto mining activity. At the time of writing, the leading cryptocurrency bitcoin is trading at $13,150. Earlier, the price of bitcoin had closed at highest since mid-January 2018.
