Cryptocurrency mining, especially Bitcoin mining, is a sensitive subject. Over the years, there have been bans and crackdowns on the practice of cryptocurrency mining due to excessive energy consumption and the massive carbon footprint it leaves behind.
BTC was launched in 2009 and is the first and most popular cryptocurrency in the world. Although a large part of the world is still confused as to what cryptocurrency really is, BTC has made its mark and is unlikely to become obsolete in the future.
Bitcoin is a decentralized cryptocurrency that is free from manipulation and control by governments and central banks. The same makes BTC one of the top choices of people and corporations who value the freedom that comes with owning money that central banks or other governmental organizations cannot control.
However, there are a few problems with bitcoin that have retarded its global adoption, and one of these is the issue of mining.
One of the key setbacks bitcoin faces in adoption is mining and the insane amounts of energy it consumes. The environmental impacts of the energy sources used to power the mining rigs are also an issue, coupled with the current drop in the cryptocurrency's value that shows that it isn't as free from external influences as previously assumed.
Bitcoin mining is essentially a process in which computers are used to solve complex mathematical puzzles as a way to process and verify transactions on the network. When one of these problems is solved by a computer, a new block of data is added to the "blockchain," and the miner or computer that solved this problem gets rewarded with a small amount of bitcoin as payment for their hard work.
The creator of bitcoin, an anonymous developer known under the pseudonym "Satoshi Nakamoto," added a total supply of 21 million bitcoin to the original workings of the system, meaning that only 21 million bitcoins will ever exist.
Asides from that, the creator (or creators) of bitcoin added a protocol known as "halving" that cuts the rewards from bitcoin mining in half every four years.
This implies means that bitcoin mining will only increase in intensity as the years go by.
While some countries have banned bitcoin, and others have banned cryptocurrencies and mining altogether. In contrast, some countries have become one of the biggest bitcoin mining hotspots in the world.
Below are the top three of them.
China used to be the global superpower in BTC mining. However, right after the country banned cryptocurrencies, the US quickly took its place. The US has now become the number one ranking country in terms of mining hashrate with an average monthly hashrate share of 37.84% compared to the rest of the world.
The US enjoys this position as the top BTC mining country because of its access to renewable energy sources and low-priced energy.
Texas, for example, has a deregulated power grid that allows consumers to choose and change energy providers. This provides a certain degree of flexibility to the BTC miners in the country when it comes to energy because energy is one of the key variables in any bitcoin mining operation.
China was once the largest BTC mining hub, boasting over 75% of the bitcoin network's hashrate. However, this figure plummeted to zero in July after the Chinese government's crackdown on cryptocurrencies.
Since the ban, several underground mining operations have emerged all over the country, with miners working their way around the cryptocurrency ban with VPNs and aggregate geolocation from several large BTC mining pools, where mining activity is scattered across several other countries
The country has now bounced back. Chinese BTC mining operations have begun a slow climb to the upside, and now hold 21.1% of the global BTC hashrate.
Although Kazakhstan's future as one of the largest BTC mining countries seems shaky after the BTC mining riots that broke out in January 2022 after the power outages caused by mining operations, the country still has about 13.2% of the global mining share.
The country boasts large expanses of land, low costs of energy, and a favorable climate. Naturally, Kazakhstan became one of the most prominent choices for BTC miners.
Reports on a 500% tax from the Kazakh government on miners, and the power outages, however, are indicators that the country may lose its ranking very soon.
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