A logistics company that offers international delivery has confirmed it will be airlifting 3,000 kilos (3 tons) of bitcoin mining machines to Maryland, USA.
This follows in the wake of the Chinese government’s crackdown on the bitcoin mining industry within its territory resulting in mining farms being shut down in entire regions of the country. The campaign also saw laws that prevent new mining centers from being put up.
In light of this, there were a number of speculations as to where crypto mining facilities would relocate and with the apparent delivery of the said machines in Maryland, it appears that the U.S. is the next destination for bitcoin mining.
The Chinese crackdown
In explaining its actions, the Chinese government said the reason for shutting down of mining farms was their insane energy consumption. Bitcoin consumes more power per year for mining than the country of Netherlands, experts say.
With bitcoin mining considered a big consumer of power in China and the country looking for ways to reduce its pollution footprint, it would make sense that mining farms or centers will be the government’s target.
The crypto mining industry still uses fossil fuel energy which is a big contributor to greenhouse gases and pollution, accounting 70% of the total emission in the world.
Is U.S. the new mining hub?
As of now, it is hard to determine where most of the miners affected by the crackdown will set up shop next.
The news about the shipment of mining rigs to the U.S. does not necessarily mean they will be set up there. They could just be stored in the area.
The U.S. may not have the highest electricity cost but it doesn’t have the lowest either and so migrating operations there could mean a significant increase in energy costs that miners would bear.
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