Bitcoin withstood a nation-state attack of China actually banning mining, and the network shrugged it off, says Kevin Zhang, vice-president of business development at Foundry Digital. The recovery has been measured through the hashrate, which describes the computing power of all miners in the bitcoin network.
Bitcoin’s hashrate dropped off more than 50% after China cracked its whip on cryptocurrency miners in May. China was home to about 70% of the global bitcoin mining power until Beijing’s crackdown sent the price of the cryptocurrency plunging. According to the data available on Blockchain.com, the network has sprung up from its losses. The hashrate is up about 113% in five months.
Brandon Arvanaghi, a bitcoin mining engineer, believes this spike in hashrate may prove positive for bitcoin. He pointed out that bitcoin mining survived China’s strict stance and stood against all odds. “The bitcoin network withstood an attack by a major superpower and emerged stronger than ever six months later. How can anyone argue, ‘but what if nations ban it?’ again”
Zhang says the world’s most popular cryptocurrency speedy recovery came from US’s laying the groundwork to emerge as the new mecca for mining. He believes this is because Americans have a huge appetite for growth, building infrastructure, and leveraging stranded power.
Since May 2021, Texas has attracted crypto miners, who now consider the American state their home. And they are delighted with the fact that Texas Governor, Greg Abbott is a vocal supporter of cryptocurrency. In June, Abbott tweeted that Texas will be the crypto leader. And it became the second state in the US, after Wyoming, to recognize blockchain and cryptocurrency in its commercial law.
As such, a number of crypto companies including Shenzhen-based BIT Mining plan to invest $26 million to build a data center in the state. Another Chinese company, Beijing-based Bitmain is set to expand its facility in Rockdale, Texas.
