Bitcoin Hashrate Falls 8% After Xinjiang Mining Shutdown

Bitcoin's global network hashrate plunged by approximately 8 percent this week following the shutdown of around 400,000 mining machines in China's Xinjiang province, amid a renewed government crackdown on cryptocurrency operations. The disruption, which affected an estimated 100 exahashes per second of computing power, contributed to heightened selling pressure and pushed Bitcoin's price below 87,000 dollars, where it traded at about 86,560 dollars as of Wednesday.

The closures in Xinjiang, a region known for its low-cost coal-based power that has drawn miners despite China's 2021 nationwide ban on Bitcoin mining, caught operators off guard. Local enforcement actions forced multiple large-scale farms offline, severing revenue streams and prompting some to liquidate Bitcoin holdings to cover costs or relocate equipment. According to former Canaan executive Jack Kong, the sudden loss equated to more than 400,000 application-specific integrated circuit machines, based on an average output of 250 terahashes per second per device. "Farms in Xinjiang were shutting down one after another," Kong posted on social media, adding that the move handed an unintended advantage to other...