Bitcoin’s hash rate begins to recover as miners migrate from China

Bitcoin’s hash rate has shown signs of recovery as some Chinese miners gradually reconnect computing power, having already shipped part of their equipment out of the PRC.

The Bitcoin hash rate, smoothed over a 7-day moving average, has been rising since early July. In the past two weeks the metric has hovered near the 100 EH/s level, well above the value it had at the end of last month.

As of writing, Bitcoin’s hash rate stood at 108 EH/s, according to BitInfoCharts.

In July mining difficulty for digital gold fell by 4.81% — to 13.67 T. The next recalculation will occur in about two days. It is expected to rise by 4.47% — to 14.28 T.

Earlier, Bitfury Group estimated that after the de facto ban on cryptocurrencies in China, miners had shut down equipment with a combined hash rate of 90 EH/s. The company estimated that the relocation of the devices would be completed in Q2 2022.

Although China’s crackdown targeted primarily Bitcoin mining, rolling blackouts have also affected Ethereum miners. At the end of June, a month after reaching an all-time high, the hash rate of the second cryptocurrency fell by 20% — below 500 TH/s.

In July the metric began to recover. After hitting a local low, its 7-day moving average chart has followed an upward trend. At the time of writing the network’s average hash rate stands at 526 TH/s, according to BTC.com.

The recovery of the hash rate suggests that at least some Chinese miners have successfully moved and connected their equipment.

BIT Mining Limited announced the signing of an agreement to purchase 2,500 Bitcoin miners for $6.6 million, which will lift capacity by 165 PH/s. The purchased equipment will be shipped to Kazakhstan.

The company has also begun Ethereum mining outside Mainland China with a hash rate exceeding 86 GH/s.

In a conversation with The Block, BitRiver CEO Igor Runets noted that with the onset of blackouts in China the company signed contracts with Chinese clients to provide 150 MW of capacity.

In its Q2 2021 financial report, Bit Digital stated that in the previous three months it shipped 14,500 ASIC miners to the United States. At that time, more than 20% of its devices were already based in the United States, and a further 44.6% were in transit or awaiting installation.

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