Four years after completely banning cryptocurrency mining and trading, China is once again becoming a key player in the market.
Private miners and companies are finding loopholes by exploiting cheap electricity and excess data center capacity, Reuters reports.
According to the Hashrate Index, China, whose share of global Bitcoin mining fell to zero after the 2021 ban, rebounded to third place by the end of October with a 14% market share.
Energy-rich provinces such as Xinjiang have become the main hub for miners.
"A lot of energy can't be transferred outside of Xinjiang, so it's consumed in crypto mining. New projects are being built. I'd say this: people mine where electricity is cheap," said Wang, a private miner.
Due to overinvestment in data centers, local authorities have accumulated excess computing power and electricity. Regional administrations, facing budget shortages, are tacitly allowing the use of this infrastructure for mining.
This trend is confirmed by statistics from equipment manufacturers. Canaan Inc., the second-largest miner manufacturer in the world, reported a sharp increase in sales in China. In 2022 (immediately after the ban), China accounted for only 2.8% of the company's revenue. Last year, this share increased to 30.3%, and in the second quarter of 2025, it exceeded 50%.
