What Happens If China Bans Bitcoin Mining?

[Darooghe]

It would deal a massive blow to a series of Chinese companies that rode the crypto wave by providing mining and production tools to the industry like Bitmain . Losing those large facilities, which benefit from economies of scale, could help smaller miners compete in China, where small operations would be more likely to continue operating under the radar, and elsewhere.

This latest news out of China about mining, could well serve to further distribute hash rate and thus strengthen the network. This would ultimately be a positive development for Bitcoin generally and may directly answer one of Bitcoin’s most repeated criticisms.

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[gentlemand]

It would deal a massive blow to a series of Chinese companies that rode the crypto wave by providing mining and production tools to the industry like Bitmain . Losing those large facilities, which benefit from economies of scale, could help smaller miners compete in China, where small operations would be more likely to continue operating under the radar, and elsewhere.

Bitmain have had the money and demand to go global. It's not the biggest or the minnows who'd be affected the most, it's the middle ground and they probably make up a decent amount of the overall hash rate.

Still plenty of others ready to fill in if they do clear out.

[Lauren Smith]

I think most of us will be happy if bitcoin mining was banned in china   Most of the hashing comes from there and they get miners and electricity so cheap that there is no keeping up. The rest of us will finally have a chance.

They can make their own currency and mine that with their miners if they looking for something to mine.

[Flor1982]

Then the whole mining system will collapse, that's what will happen

I doubt that it will collapse, it may have significant effect on the ecosystem. But to say that it will fall just because of China banning bitcoin mining is absurd. And I'm sure big mining companies inside China has already a plan B in case the government made that bold move. At least if this happens, then it can break the monopoly and I'm sure there will be companies and countries will to take the lead.

I agree with you as i believe that Mining companies in China have already exit plan to continue their operation in case of Banning and besides not only China has affordable electricity in the world because their are lot of places that can match their cost that even much little expensive but still it is better than their enterprise will not continue operating.

[ranochigo]

Then the whole mining system will collapse, that's what will happen

I doubt that it will collapse, it may have significant effect on the ecosystem. But to say that it will fall just because of China banning bitcoin mining is absurd. And I'm sure big mining companies inside China has already a plan B in case the government made that bold move. At least if this happens, then it can break the monopoly and I'm sure there will be companies and countries will to take the lead.

I agree with you as i believe that Mining companies in China have already exit plan to continue their operation in case of Banning and besides not only China has affordable electricity in the world because their are lot of places that can match their cost that even much little expensive but still it is better than their enterprise will not continue operating.

The main problem is that China has a significantly cheaper labour cost and electrical cost due to their proximity to renewable energy sources. The fact that the biggest ASIC companies are all based in China also help to cut down their expense significantly. Given the cost of shipping the ASICs overseas with the effort required to find another suitable place, I doubt that the network would recover that well.

But realistically, China wouldn't ban Bitcoin mining. It does still contribute to the economy in general and their stance is just to avoid dealing with Bitcoin as a commodity.

[Vertex_ICO]

Bitcoin mining is a big and profitable enterprise with many players based in China exploiting the cheap power and manpower rates. In case China will finally decide to make the threat of ban come into effect, then there will be a diaspora from China to other suitable countries. And I think the transfer had actually started in 2017 albeit slowly as players felt that eventually China may ban the mining in the country for different grounds. That China has not yet decided on this matter is even a little surprise to me. Perhaps the leadership of China has realized that bitcoin mining is bringing in good revenues anyway and that they can one day leverage this power and influence for various applications. I would be happy to see other countries also entering this industry so we can avoid monopoly or concentration (centralization)  of power and influence in a single country.

Absolutely, the Chinese government has been threatening harsh regulations for years - but for now it is an excellent option for miners. In fact, President Xi Jinping recently gave a speech embracing blockchain technology and it's potential uses, so it looks fairly good for Chinese miners at present.

[Vertex_ICO]

If China bans bitcoin mining inside their political jurisdiction then the mining farms in their area will just transfer to another country to mine. Bitcoin data centers have already a taste of how profitable bitcoin mining is and will not be stopped even if the state will not allowed them to mine. They will simply transfer their equipment and facilities out of China and continue to mine. Bitcoin mining is unstoppable except if all bitcoin blocks have been mined.

For sure, they will mostly migrate out of China. However, one should take into account how much cheaper it is to mine in China than elsewhere because of low electricity rates and relatively cheap and available man power. How do you think that would impact Chinese miners if they had to migrate?

[Vertex_ICO]

China banning Bitcoin would definitely have an impact on the cryptocurrency industry, not just because a big part of the mining farms are located there, but because the majority of world's population is located there. Mining farms will probably just sell the rigs to farms in the nordic countries or simply relocate. I think using alternative sources like geotermal, solar and wind energy are the way to go in crypto mining. Also it is much more efficient to set up a farm in a cold place like Finland or what about Greenland? - there is no one there so could be a viable place to build up a powerful farm.

It's very likely that they would migrate, since mining is still super profitable for them. The cryptocurrency industry definitely needs to get on the sustainable electricty train, so perhaps miners migrating to a country with harsher regulations around electricity would encourage that.

[Vertex_ICO]

If China in any way happens to ban crypto minning. It still won't be able to exercise his powers completely over all the miners. There are two reasons as to it:

• Big Miners can move abroad: Big Miners who can mine a fortune out of cryptocurrencies will try to leave the countries to nearby islands like Taiwan and Fiji or even Mauritius which can act as tax heaven countries.
  
• Generally speaking Miners don't require assistance of government in any way to mine cryptos in the first place so there is no way they can stop it unless they are willing to raid every house which is suspicious for mining. There is no way to trace such mining activities. It will be a hard time for them implementing law.

It might be challenging for them to actually enforce the law, but it will still make mining more difficult in China. Operating under secrecy is always difficult, particularly when you're running a big mining operation and using a lot of electricity.

[Vertex_ICO]

Considering that 75% of the mining pools is located on China, if China government decides to ban Bitcoin mining, the Bitcoin mining industry can go into a chaos period I think. Bitmain is building data centers for Bitcoin miners in different countries and this could be effective on preventing such possibility for the industry.

It would possibly present quite a challenge - do you think Chinese miners would migrate to other countries where regulations are less strict? It definitely poses a problem.

[Vertex_ICO]

Think we'd lose a lot of miners for sure, for at least a little while. We've already seen how much mining operations China owns and it makes up a lot of our blockchain.

If this was to happen, most mining companies with millions of hardware would either just cut their profits and quit the scene, or secretly still be active and risk punishments, or move to another region with cheaper electricity or a viable way for them to generate their own electricity.

It'll be one of their most stupid movies if they where to ban mining, Chinese companies and the governments make a decent penny off that.

It would be a bad move on the part of the Chinese government. Yes, miners could migrate especially since operating in secrecy in a surveillance state could be quite challenging. Overall, it may cause a disruption in the crypto scene.

[Vertex_ICO]

Other countries might take over, and start a big mining farm. China had been on and off when it comes to crypto, announcing they will ban it, and then later they will take back what they have announced. They are holding the biggest mining farm and it will somehow affect the whole system, but I think in time we can adjust since there are still other miners and as I, 've said other countries might take over and start creating a mining farms.

Yes, other countries may take over - but that wouldn't happen with immediate effect. What do you think would happen to the cryptocurrecy industry should China ban mining? Would exchanges and marketplaces like Vertex also be affected?

[Vertex_ICO]

So far China has the lowest rate for mining, especially on electricity costs. Considering how much and relevant bitcoin mining is in China. The ban of bitcoin mining will greatly affect the loss of many hash rates, looking forward if this really happens is bad impact.

Yes, it would potentially have a hugely negative impact on Bitcoin hash rates - which are already quite slow in comparison to other blockchains. Ultimately, we don't know if China would ban mining but if they did it would certainly present some problems for the rest of the crypto asset industry too.

[Vertex_ICO]

Banning bitcoin in China would be a big blow to the entire network as this is likely to slow down transactions as the OP rightly said. However i think Bitmain and other mining farms need to relocate to outskirts of cities and towns instead of being within the community if that's the situation at the moment. Because the mining of bitcoin really causes noise pollution and i think relocating to the outskirts of towns would be a good resolution. Using sound proof doors is likely going to increase the heat within the the farm and using cooling systems can also increase their cost of electricity consumption.
Also, i think mining farms which still use coal to mine should be made to stop as this also pollutes the environment.

You're right. Miners need to start looking into powering their rigs with sustainable electricity. It is becoming a huge problem, and sustainable solutions are the only way to go at this point. Relocating could help with decreasing some of the negative social impact, but how would it help with electricity usage - other than the cooling systems?

[Vertex_ICO]

I think that if they ban it or not it will still go on and nothing much will change, maybe some of the big companies that are set to mining bitcoin will relocate or maybe shut down, but a lot of individuals will stay and just mine in the shadows as all things that become illegal, and the thing about bitcoin is that it is adaptive, the blockchain and the difficulty is based on how many people are mining so if china banned bitcoin mining, the number of miners will go down but the price and the supply of the bitcoin will stay the same.

Yes, the price and supply will remain the same - but the hash rate would definitely decrease, which could be the source of a lot of frustration. Operating illegally is obviously an option, but could prove quite difficult in a surveillance state like China.

[asus09]

The struggles of Bitcoin seem to be unending, with many uncertainties hovering over the new technology. Earlier this year, the Chinese government intensified efforts towards the banning of Bitcoin mining. Some of the reasons stated includes the electricity consumption, and the environmental threats of the mining process. This has raised a lot of questions as to what could become of the technology, considering the role of China when it comes to Bitcoin mining. So we ask, what happens if China bans Bitcoin mining?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J6sc-XRY3RA

How Relevant is China in Bitcoin Mining?

Over 75% of the mining pools in the Bitcoin network are located in China. This has automatically made the region a very important one for Bitcoin as a whole. It now looks as if Bitcoin depends on China to survive. This is why every rumour, news or event coming out of the Asia-Pacific region as a whole is usually of great concern to the industry.

China is home to the biggest mining equipment manufacturing company in the Bitcoin and cryptocurrency industry. Bitmain, which is a hardware manufacturing company that specialises in computer chips, is located in Beijing. When it comes to Bitcoin mining equipment, Bitmain has no competition. It is responsible for shipping billions of ASIC mining rigs to different parts of the world. This accounts to over 75% of the equipment that is available in the industry.

As a matter of interest, most of this equipment doesn’t go too far from the source. Favourable weather and affordable electricity mean that many Bitcoin mining farms prefer to setup in and around the China region. Hydroelectricity and coal are cheaper sources of power, although the environmental implications of coal do not go down well with the immediate society. The pollution that it causes is among the reasons why China is considering the ban, as mentioned above.

Why are Bitcoin Mining Farms located in China?

The Bitcoin mining industry of today exists more in the form of mining pools. Instead of having individuals, or small companies running independent mining platforms, resources are contributed in a unified front. An example of this is Bitclub Network. Different units come together and contribute resources so that they can compete effectively in finding blocks. When they do, the rewards are then shared based on individual contribution. This is what informs the need for building gigantic farms, and why a region like China with favourable atmospheric and cost tolerance is preferred.

https://twitter.com/business/status/1117205198684823552?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.embedly.com%2Fwidgets%2Fmedia.html%3Ftype%3Dtext%252Fhtml%26key%3Da19fcc184b9711e1b4764040d3dc5c07%26schema%3Dtwitter%26url%3Dhttps%253A%2F%2Ftwitter.com%2Fbusiness%2Fstatus%2F1117205198684823552%26image%3Dhttps%253A%2F%2Fi.embed.ly%2F1%2Fimage%253Furl%253Dhttps%25253A%25252F%25252Fpbs.twimg.com%25252Fmedia%25252FD4EcM_5UwAEY75R.jpg%2526key%253Da19fcc184b9711e1b4764040d3dc5c07

Regulatory tolerance has also enabled this attraction towards China, even though the ban on different aspects of the crypto industry have been pointers towards a similar take on Bitcoin mining. Exchanges have been banned, and so have other areas that have to do with Bitcoin and cryptocurrency. What most practitioners in the affected areas did was simply relocate their businesses.

When it comes to Bitcoin mining, things can be a bit more complicated. Finding another conducive region that would tolerate the kind of mining activities that go on in China will not be easy. Also, moving the gigantic infrastructure that is used for mining will not be an easy task either. These are some of the issues that come to mind when considering what happens if China bans Bitcoin mining.

Are There Other Options Apart From China?

If China goes ahead to ban Bitcoin mining, a number of scenarios are likely to play out. The network will temporarily lose over 75% of mining power or hash rate that comes from the region. What this means, is that for that while fewer transactions will be carried out, and the rate of creating new Bitcoins will drop significantly. Once new rigs have been formed and implemented, network activity can return to normal.

From an economic perspective of supply and demand, if supply drops, there will be scarcity, and the price of Bitcoin will be expected to grow. But there is more to these things than meets the eye.

In view of the implications and possibilities, just like other aspects of the industry found new grounds to operate from, Bitcoin miners are already beginning to look elsewhere. Bitmain has already set up operations in inner Mongolia, Iceland is becoming home to some major mining companies, and Canada is being studied as a possible destination for others.

Is Bitcoin Really Bigger Than China?

Indeed, the role of China in the industry cannot be neglected, it has served as one of the most vibrant regions for Bitcoin development so far. However, the level of uncertainty that emanates from this same region, and the tendency of the government of China to dish out instant regulatory measures, is a threat to the technology.

Definitely, any ban on Bitcoin mining in China will cause some shake up in the industry. The possibility of it alone is already causing some movement as described above. But like the changes that we have seen before now, as much as the role of China has been significant, Bitcoin is designed to be bigger than one particular country or region.

With peer-to-peer trading platforms like Vertex.Market catering to people in over 200 countries, maybe it already is.

In considering what happens if China bans Bitcoin mining, if it goes through there will likely be some shake-up in the industry. However, just like we have seen before, the technology has the capacity to shake off the effects, and move on with development. It could be another reminder of “the many lives of Bitcoin”.

https://medium.com/@official_83664/what-happens-if-china-bans-bitcoin-mining-7f0dfa276ded

Mining have lost popular so far because have small reward after bitcoin and altcoin price down, many people and companies have sold their mining tools and try for investing and trade with bitcoin or altcoin, maybe China have banned bitcoin mining after last two years they banned bitcoin and altcoin as transaction payment and investment assets, there very small community still running with bitcoin mining to earn altcoin or bitcoin.

[ufaiz50]

A few years ago I was hearing news that there were indeed rules for mining in China, I forgot the details but the government gave notice to them. If bitcoin mining is banned in China, then where will bitcoin mining benefit? Here the biggest bitcoin mining is in china, and after I looked for information indeed in the calculation of costs in China is very supportive for mining.

[Asuspawer09]

Bitcoin mining is a big and profitable enterprise with many players based in China exploiting the cheap power and manpower rates. In case China will finally decide to make the threat of ban come into effect, then there will be a diaspora from China to other suitable countries. And I think the transfer had actually started in 2017 albeit slowly as players felt that eventually, China may ban the mining in the country for different grounds. That China has not yet decided on this matter is even a little surprise to me. Perhaps the leadership of China has realized that bitcoin mining is bringing in good revenues anyway and that they can one day leverage this power and influence for various applications. I would be happy to see other countries also entering this industry so we can avoid monopoly or concentration (centralization)  of power and influence in a single country.

I think they could potentially do that especially I heard some articles and we know that china is very controversial and hate things like bitcoin. I guess it is because it has an anonymous transaction and it doesn't have a trusted technology in their sides, also I read some articles that bitcoin was made by China and they own the blockchain but this is just theory I guess. I think if China banned bitcoin mining in their country surely it will have a big effect on the supply in the market a lot of bitcoin miners leave in china. Making for sure the bitcoin market price to increase also a lot of company in china is also associated in bitcoin technology so I doubt if this is going to happen even china is a successful country it still supports its Chinese investors and company.

[GideonGono]

Then the whole mining system will collapse, that's what will happen

I doubt that it will collapse, it may have significant effect on the ecosystem. But to say that it will fall just because of China banning bitcoin mining is absurd. And I'm sure big mining companies inside China has already a plan B in case the government made that bold move. At least if this happens, then it can break the monopoly and I'm sure there will be companies and countries will to take the lead.

Why it going to collapse? is the china was the one who can mine bitcoin? I think it can cause to reduce the mining percentage everyday but other country can do also mining so we can recover it until we mined all the bitcoin.

[Eugenar]

Why it going to collapse? is the china was the one who can mine bitcoin? I think it can cause to reduce the mining percentage everyday but other country can do also mining so we can recover it until we mined all the bitcoin.

Basically mining could be done best with places that is having a very low electricity cost. In a sense where China bans Mining, it should be based on the geographical location of the mining sites. Most of the preferable sites are those located in icy fields, they can move their mining facilities to ensure that they can mine cryptocurrency and bitcoin much more efficiently. So far, I couldn't see the concrete reason why they need to ban mining.