Bitcoin Miners in China Seek Alternatives for Mining BTC

China’s Bitcoin miners have hinted at attempts towards mining the crypto asset with a clean power source as an alternative. The proposed switch is against the backdrop of China’s recent clampdown on cryptocurrencies in line with its anti-carbon policy. The ban on crypto mining was issued in the country last month and the Chinese government further gave a deadline mandating all crypto mining activities to stop by the end of June. A massive disposal of mining tools resulted from the ban. Most miners began selling off their mining tools at ridiculous prices to protect themselves against prosecution.

Higher Power Consumption and Environmental Hazards Reasons For Mining Ban in China 

With the latest announcement, most notable miners are planning to use clean energy sources to operate their mining rigs. Cryptocurrency mining requires a lot of computational and electric power (hash rate) to mine crypto effectively. China’s ban on mining activities had been issued as a result of the high energy consumption and hazards caused to the environment by these activities. China has hinted at plans to use clean energy for electricity. Mining activities had also resulted in unlawful coal mining which contravenes the country’s anti-carbon stance.

The environmental hazards from mining activities prompted Elon Musk, according to his tweet in May, to stop Bitcoin payments for Tesla’s electric vehicles. Last month, the billionaire had said that Tesla was no longer going to embrace Bitcoin payments. Elon Musk claimed that this was as a result of the power consumed in mining the top crypto asset. His statement had contributed to a dip in the crypto market, and also earned him criticisms from crypto enthusiasts following the huge dip. 

Interestingly, Elon Musk had rescinded the statement made in May this month. In one of his tweets in June, he said Tesla would reconsider its previous stance on Bitcoin payments if 50% of the energy used in mining it can be gotten from a clean energy source. Following a series of regulations on crypto mining in various countries including Iran, a Bitcoin Mining Council was constituted this month. Members of the mining council comprise institutional investors, businesses and miners as well. The council is headed by Michael Saylor, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of MicroStrategy who also said that in the council’s first meeting which is billed to hold this week, they would deliberate on a clean energy source for Bitcoin mining.

Miners to Partner with Power Companies 

Chinese miners are looking to partner with electricity companies, so they can use excess power for mining activities. Popular miners have also started migrating to other regions such as Serbia, El Salvador, Texas with favorable conditions for mining activities. In the wake of the ban, alternative power sources such as volcanoes and manure are now being used for mining. El Salvador’s president had equally hinted at using volcanoes for mining Bitcoin which it has already made a legal tender.

China has been one of the favorite regions for bitcoin mining due to cheap power and labor, including safety. However, in view of the ban, crypto miners are leaving the country in droves. In another development, some stakeholders have urged China to soft-pedal on its ban as mining has contributed to the country’s economy. They urged miners and regulators to come to a compromise instead of an outright ban.

Tokenhell produces content exposure for over 5,000 crypto companies and you can be one of them too! Contact at info@tokenhell.com if you have any questions. Cryptocurrencies are highly volatile, conduct your own research before making any investment decisions. Some of the posts on this website are guest posts or paid posts that are not written by Tokenhell authors (namely Crypto Cable , Sponsored Articles and Press Release content) and the views expressed in these types of posts do not reflect the views of this website. Tokenhell is not responsible for the content, accuracy, quality, advertising, products or any other content or banners (ad space) posted on the site. Read full terms and conditions / disclaimer.