Photos: Life inside of China’s massive and remote bitcoin mines

[aesma]

Statistically, I think china has 14 of the top 30 most polluted cities in the world. That's an unfortunate result of reliance on coal to generate electricity. Its an interesting point that never comes up in climate change discussions where the united states is heavily penalized for greenhouse gas emissions while china and other more heavily polluting nations get a free pass.

The Paris climate accord is all about greenhouse gas emissions, whatever their source is. Each country has set up targets, China too. They're by far the country investing the most in green tech. At this rate the USA, not China, will be the last country on the planet running coal powerplants.

[Hydrogen]

The Paris climate accord is all about greenhouse gas emissions, whatever their source is. Each country has set up targets, China too. They're by far the country investing the most in green tech. At this rate the USA, not China, will be the last country on the planet running coal powerplants.

Its a moot point. Deforestation is the real cause of climate change and drought.

Inland, a large proportion of rainfall comes from water evaporated from the leaves of plants/trees. Deforestation cuts down forests which reduces water evaporation causing decreased rainfall. The end result is drought.

Forests also naturally store carbon in a process known as carbon sequestration. Deforestation limits the planet's ability to store carbon which leads to higher overall emissions.

The Paris Accord is pointless as it addresses only emissions and does nothing to curb deforestation which is the real cause of our climate change & drought issues. Statistically 80% of the world's natural forests have been cut down. There is no real effort to fix the climate until that point is discussed.

[Kakmakr]

Statistically, I think china has 14 of the top 30 most polluted cities in the world. That's an unfortunate result of reliance on coal to generate electricity. Its an interesting point that never comes up in climate change discussions where the united states is heavily penalized for greenhouse gas emissions while china and other more heavily polluting nations get a free pass.

The Paris climate accord is all about greenhouse gas emissions, whatever their source is. Each country has set up targets, China too. They're by far the country investing the most in green tech. At this rate the USA, not China, will be the last country on the planet running coal powerplants.

IHS released its ranking today that put Trina Solar as the top shipper of solar panels in 2014, followed by Yingli Green Energy. Both companies are based in China, which has dominated the solar equipment manufacturing business for many years now.Dec 3, 2014

So even if they are contributing most to greenhouse gas emission, they offset that by helping other countries to reduce it, by manufacturing the most solar panels.

This Bitcoin Farm makes use of renewable energy too, which is good.

[NUFCrichard]

All that water around all that electricity doesn't seem like a good mix   

This!
It looks like a good place to have a Bitcoin mining plant, but it doesn't look very high tech. And what is with the standing water inside next to the miners? I get using water coolers, but water on the ground deosn't look very professional and can't be safe.

It looks like the owner is in it for a quick buck to me. They picked out a great location, but are half arsing it with the other stuff. How about they dispose of their rubbish/trash?

[aesma]

The Paris climate accord is all about greenhouse gas emissions, whatever their source is. Each country has set up targets, China too. They're by far the country investing the most in green tech. At this rate the USA, not China, will be the last country on the planet running coal powerplants.

Its a moot point. Deforestation is the real cause of climate change and drought.

Inland, a large proportion of rainfall comes from water evaporated from the leaves of plants/trees. Deforestation cuts down forests which reduces water evaporation causing decreased rainfall. The end result is drought.

Forests also naturally store carbon in a process known as carbon sequestration. Deforestation limits the planet's ability to store carbon which leads to higher overall emissions.

The Paris Accord is pointless as it addresses only emissions and does nothing to curb deforestation which is the real cause of our climate change & drought issues. Statistically 80% of the world's natural forests have been cut down. There is no real effort to fix the climate until that point is discussed.

Deforestation is part of the accord, and is considered an emission. Part of the pledged money is supposed to go towards stopping it and reversing the trend in developing countries.

[mk4]

I've read and watched  numerous videos about Chinese bitcoin mines. It seems like bitcoin mines are more common in China. Probably due to cheap electicity. Also, there was one video I've watched about a short interview with a mine owner, whereas he said he didn't know what bitcoin was. What he only know id that having a mine makes him money. LOL

[Betwrong]

Great pictures, although I think it belongs to the Mining section. )

Once again Chinese are showing they are in the front row. You don't do things like that if you don't believe in Bitcoin. They know they will be rich in the future with Bitcoins they can mine here. Good job!

[Barbut]

I've read and watched  numerous videos about Chinese bitcoin mines. It seems like bitcoin mines are more common in China. Probably due to cheap electicity. Also, there was one video I've watched about a short interview with a mine owner, whereas he said he didn't know what bitcoin was. What he only know id that having a mine makes him money. LOL

On Vice there was video news about it, they went in deep China in some city I don't remember the name and there was that old factory. Pretty big place, and in each floor they are mining difrent coin. They mined btc ltc and one other coin, I'm not sure is it ETH or some other coin. I was amazed on what high level they are, there was a guy that was showing all that, talking about many things but nothing about how much money they are earning with this mining, that remained mistery.
Is there some info about how much they can earn? Even in this thread nobody shared any info about that, it would be interesting to know that.

[LouVandetta]

Amazing, chinese miners never fails to amaze me.

It must be cost a lot of money and electricity.
But with all those machines and infrastructure, the could covered everything right?
And of course lots of money.

[btctousd81]

that is one big mining setup.,  i wonder how many bitcoins are they mining per day. and how much hash power in total are those ASIC miners are generating.,
but to setup something like that , it needs lots of money., ASIC miners are not cheap., and whats the fun in selling btc right away after mining., so they must be holding bitcoins for long term.,
i think electrictyy must be cheal in china a electronis are cheap and labour is also cheap., so its very possible for them.,

[Doms]

I wonder if those employees are being paid in bitcoin with their salaries. Given the hazards of working at such an environment, they should at least be getting some incentives to cover for the maintenance work they have to attend to, plus being far away from their families.

[olubams]

If this pictures is any thing to go by, then I am wowed to the level of investment put in place in other to generate bitcoin that we all use as if its something that can be gotten from a snap. Its also a confirmation as to how difficult it has become to mine bitcoin in addition to refute the claims if several cloud mining sites that just crop up every now and then claiming to mine bitcoin whereas they are just bunch of ponzi sites.

[wxa7115]

Yeah the water is a bit scary.

Using hydro is better in theory, except if that means more coal plants have to be run to compensate for what is used there.

Chinese people love BTC because it's not controlled by their government. The Chinese government screws with their money big time.

So this is like tax evasion for westerners.

And this is another big reason, if you think the US government plays and manipulates the US dollar then that is child play compared to what the Chinese government does that is why some Chinese citizens are desperate to find ways to get around the regulations of the government and bitcoin is the perfect way to do it.

[xFiber]

Until now, I don't understand why the Chinese are more interested in bitcoin then other people. We need to see more of these mining farms around the world or It will be just a matter of time until we see centralization If we could call it that way. (This is valid for exchanges as well)

The Chinese pretty much have all the supplies so it's a lot cheaper for them to produce or purchase huge amounts of miners since the middelmen is cut out. An European/American business has to either buy the inventory of a retailer or find connections in China to do so. Not to mention the electricity costs and shipping. Adding up tot that bitcoin is still brand new and extremely volatile, an entire business mining bitcoin could potentially go bankrupt if bitcoin were to crash for 6 months.

[Hydrogen]

Deforestation is part of the accord, and is considered an emission. Part of the pledged money is supposed to go towards stopping it and reversing the trend in developing countries.

You should know by now that governments never really fix anything. They're usually the source of our problems, not the solution for them. After the last haiti earthquake the UN stepped in and promised to help haitians. Then the UN infected 700,000 haitians with cholera "helping" them. Millions of dollars were pledged to help haitians. Hillary and Bill Clinton gave all of that money to private contractors that funded their campaigns and haitians got nothing. Many governments say they support innovation and progress. Then they pass laws which restrict the innovation and advancement of crypto currencies like bitcoin.

On the topic of climate change, the paris accord will do nothing to prevent deforestation in indonesia or brazil where its needed. It contains no programs to diminish consumption of palm oil, paper, beef and assorted goods associated with the deforestation process. It doesn't contain incentives for afforestation, seed bombing, or specific methods to combat climate change. It won't do anything useful. All it will do is impoverish wealthy nations to prop up failing ones to ensure that every major country on earth that still has freedom ends up like venezuela and greece as they've done for the past 30+ years.

People think the state is their god & their god is obligated to save us from our sins. That's not necessarily the way things work.

[lambofan]

The third image shows all that water on the floor,that may not be considered very safe,but maybe  someone else has another perspective,because for example, those guys do not seem to bring any kind of protection,like gloves, insulated boots,and by logic should use at least those minimum safety equipment when working with so many electrical appliances regardless of whether they are used or not,in case of an eventuality.

[itsonlikedonkeykong]

Incredible images. I love this article.

Thanks for sharing!

[Andre_Goldman]

https://qz.com/1026605/photos-chinas-bitcoin-mines-and-miners/

A bitcoin “mine” with a blue tin roof sits next to a hydroelectric power plant in Ngawa Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan province. (Liu Xingzhe/ChinaFile/EPA)


Packing materials for mining machines pile up beside the water-cooling system at a Bitcoin mine in Sichuan province. (Liu Xingzhe/ChinaFile/EPA)


Employees at a bitcoin mine in Sichuan. (Liu Xingzhe/ChinaFile/EPA)

***More at source

PRETTY PICTURES.

Interestingly, the bitcoin plant photographed sits adjacent to a hydroelectric power plant. All of its energy comes from a renewable & natural source which seems to contradict the media perspective which says bitcoin is bad for the environment and contributes to climate change.

The photos might also help explain why GPU's and ASIC's to some degree are scarce commodities and not as easy to find as they used to be.

Employees at a bitcoin mine in Sichuan.

I hope you guys are having fun ... that leaking on the floor means nothing ... 

[cpfreeplz]

Until now, I don't understand why the Chinese are more interested in bitcoin then other people. We need to see more of these mining farms around the world or It will be just a matter of time until we see centralization If we could call it that way. (This is valid for exchanges as well)

There are farms around the world. People just like to fixate on Chinese exchanges for some reason. I guess because they are the biggest. There are also lots in North America and Europe but they get a lot less exposure.

[cafucafucafu]

https://qz.com/1026605/photos-chinas-bitcoin-mines-and-miners/

A bitcoin “mine” with a blue tin roof sits next to a hydroelectric power plant in Ngawa Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan province. (Liu Xingzhe/ChinaFile/EPA)


Packing materials for mining machines pile up beside the water-cooling system at a Bitcoin mine in Sichuan province. (Liu Xingzhe/ChinaFile/EPA)


Employees at a bitcoin mine in Sichuan. (Liu Xingzhe/ChinaFile/EPA)

***More at source

PRETTY PICTURES.

Interestingly, the bitcoin plant photographed sits adjacent to a hydroelectric power plant. All of its energy comes from a renewable & natural source which seems to contradict the media perspective which says bitcoin is bad for the environment and contributes to climate change.

The photos might also help explain why GPU's and ASIC's to some degree are scarce commodities and not as easy to find as they used to be.

Well guys, if you didn’t know this, China is one of the biggest bitcoin miners out there and this is mostly due to a couple of reasons

1.Electricity is basically free there and if you mine bitcoin, usually what you are trying to break even with are your electricity bills, and most miners barely break even, while in China, someone mining bitcoins with a dodgy setup would easily earn more than there electricity bills since it is so cheap, so why wouldn’t you mine bitcoin?
2.A lot of the Chinese people believe in bitcoin and have taken the risk for mining.

We have tough competition.