Chinese crypto-mining equipment manufacturers from China are shifting their supply focus to Central Asia and North America amid tougher statements by authorities on mining. Reuters reports.
Ebang International of Hangzhou said that its devices “will still be in short supply” abroad, even if domestic sales cease. The manufacturer also did not rule out Chinese clients “will travel abroad to mine.”
In confirmation of the trend, BIT Mining Limited, based in Shenzhen, signed investment agreement for a cryptocurrency mining data center in Kazakhstan.
According to Innosilicon Technology vice president Alex Ao, foreign miners will benefit from China losing computing power.
“Places like North America and Central Asia have advantages in terms of energy supply and political support,” Ao said.
Edward Lu, Senior Vice President of Canaan Inc, said the company is considering similar markets.
“The strategy should be to aggressively develop markets such as Kazakhstan, Canada and Northern Europe, where energy resources are abundant and cheap, and the rules are clear and predictable,” Lu said.
Major regional mining hubs, excluding Inner Mongolia, have not yet issued statements about plans to regulate the industry.
“Moving operations overseas is the only fallback plan for mining companies,” said Winston Ma, adjunct professor at New York University’s School of Law, adding that only the largest operators will be able to execute a smooth transition.
Kazakhstan hopes to turn the situation to its advantage, seeing China’s attention as an opportunity to stimulate its economy.
“We have received inquiries from three Chinese Bitcoin miners about using our hosting services,” said Didar Bekbauov, co-founder of Kazakhstan’s Hive Mining.
He added that hosting hotels are becoming an alternative for miners from the PRC.
Some companies are unhappy about having to move.
“As long as mining is not deemed illegal, officials should not kill the industry with their statements,” said one anonymous participant in China’s crypto market.
In late April, Beijing’s Municipal Bureau of Economy and Information Technology asked local data-centre operators for information on participation in mining operations.
Later, Chinese authorities said they intended to impose strict oversight of cryptocurrency mining.
In the same month, Xinhua News Agency released a piece critical of Bitcoin and mining.
Against this backdrop, BTC.TOP pool and HashCow halted activity in China. The Huobi mining pool began denying service to PRC residents.
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