Chinese Bitcoin Mining Firm Relocates Machines to Kazakhstan

Chinese Bitcoin mining firm BIT Mining has announced that it has delivered its first batch of 320 mining machines to Kazakhstan. In a release accompanying the announcement, the firm revealed that it expects its machines to be up and running by June 27, bringing a theoretical maximum hash rate capacity of 18.2 PH/s online.

A second and third batch of 2,600 machines in total is expected to arrive in Kazakhstan by July 1, with the company's remaining mining machines going to overseas data centers "over the coming quarters."

"We believe our vision and early-mover advantage will enable us to be agile in responding to the globally evolving regulatory environment," said Xianfeng Yang, CEO of BIT Mining, in a statement accompanying the release.

China's Bitcoin mining crackdown

BIT Mining's relocation overseas comes in the wake of a broad crackdown on crypto in China.

The country's central bank has reportedly called for Chinese banks and payment institutions to stop participating in crypto-related business. Simultaneously, Bitcoin miners have been forced to shut up shop in the provinces of Yunnan, Inner Mongolia, Sichuan, Xinjiang, and Qinghai, causing Bitcoin's hashrate to plummet and a collapse in crypto prices. BIT Mining itself received notice that the power supply to its Ganzi Changhe Data Center in Sichuan would be suspended on June 19, according to its statement.

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With China's crackdown on crypto showing no signs of slowing, the country's Bitcoin mining firms are looking to relocate their operations to friendlier territories abroad. They include Texas, where BIT Mining has already invested $25 million in a mining center, and Kazakhstan, where Bitcoin mining machine manufacturer Canaan has set up a service center for local customers.

Meanwhile, other territories are hoping to lure displaced Chinese miners, with Miami touting its supplies of cheap nuclear energy as a draw. But Miami's "Bitcoin Mayor" Francis Suarez might need to make his pitch more compelling.

Max Hu, of Chinese Bitcoin mining company Power360, told Decrypt that Miami’s electricity price is “quite uncompetitive.”