US The New Bitcoin Mining Hub

Transactions in Bitcoin are recorded and verified via a decentralised digital ledger and the dated proof-of-work (PoW) consensus mechanism.

Miners control Bitcoin transactions and add new blocks to the blockchain using application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), which are essentially supercharged, custom-built mining computer rigs.

The term “hashing” refers to the use of application-specific integrated circuits to solve complex mathematical problems. Due to the increasing computational demands of hashing, crypto mines (think warehouses full of computer racks) are being constructed. It uses a lot of energy and may be harmful to the environment, just like conventional mining.

US The New Bitcoin Mining Hub

US The New Bitcoin Mining Hub

Before even China officially started to kick out the Bitcoin miners from their country, the minority of the miners have already started to make a move. The U.S. has fast become the new darling of the bitcoin mining world.

It is the second-biggest mining destination on the planet, accounting for nearly 17% of all the world’s bitcoin miners as of April 2021. That’s a 151% increase from September 2020.

“For the last 18 months, we’ve had a serious growth of mining infrastructure in the U.S.,” said Darin Feinstein, founder of Blockcap and Core Scientific. “We’ve noticed a massive uptick in mining operations looking to relocate to North America, mostly in the U.S.”

According to the newly-released Cambridge data, just before the Chinese took the decision to mining ban began, the country accounted for 46% of the world’s total hashrate, an industry term used to describe the collective computing power of the bitcoin network.

That’s a sharp decline from 75.5% in September 2019, and the percentage is likely much lower given the exodus underway now.

Final Words

“500,000 formerly Chinese miner rigs are looking for homes in the U.S,” said Marathon Digital’s Fred Thiel. “If they are deployed, it would mean North America would have closer to 40% of global hashrate by the end of 2022.”

“The large, publicly traded miners were able to raise capital to go make big purchases,” said Mike Colyer, CEO of digital currency company Foundry, which helped bring over $300 million of mining equipment into North America. “A majority of the new equipment manufactured from May 2020 through December 2020 was shipped to the U.S. and Canada,” he said.