On May 17, the total hash rate of the Bitcoin network fell by 20%. The drop was caused by power-supply disruptions in China’s Sichuan province due to low rainfall and a shortage of coal.
As of the morning of May 17, #Bitcoin mining pool’s 24-hour computing power suddenly plunged 20%. Mainly because of shortage of power supply and carbon neutrality policy. #bitcoinmining https://t.co/bXn8dFPC0S pic.twitter.com/PclXufaGtD
— 8BTCnews (@btcinchina) May 18, 2021
On May 16, provincial authorities temporarily restricted electricity supplies to large consumers. The measures could be lifted once demand and supply normalise.
Officials say they are guided by the aim of achieving carbon neutrality. China plans to peak CO2 emissions before 2030 and fully eliminate them in the following 30 years. These targets are outlined in the five-year development plan adopted in March this year.
According to Coin Metrics, the Bitcoin hashrate fell to 150.6 EH/s. BitInfoCharts puts an even lower estimate at around 132.5 EH/s.
In April 2021, the Bitcoin hashrate sharply fell due to power outages as part of safety checks after explosions and floods in Chinese coal mines.
This incident, Elon Musk led as an example of the dependence of the first cryptocurrency on mining companies.
ForkLog previously wrote about how the hashrate relates to the price of Bitcoin.
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