Below the Fold - the great mining migration

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Hey Below the Fold fam,

Earlier this year, we discovered how bitcoin consumes more energy than the entirety of Argentina (which currently ranks 30th in the world for electricity consumption). And while there are efforts to make bitcoin more green, it continues to be a concern. Some of you even wrote back letting us know you abandoned crypto as a result — and now China is following your lead…

TODAY'S STORY

The world’s largest bitcoin producer banned bitcoin
Mon Aug 23

China has pulled the plug on bitcoin mining within the country, which previously accounted for half of the world’s mining output. As a refresher, bitcoin mining (how new bitcoin is created) is an energy intensive process using high-powered computers. Cheap electricity in regions such as Xinjiang and Inner Mongolia attracted miners and mining pools (groups of miners combining their computing power).

But a booming bitcoin mining industry worked against China’s aggressive goals to cut down on carbon emissions — one energy research fund even found that eliminating bitcoin mining in China would cut their CO2 emissions by 57 million tonnes. That’s how much the entirety of Portugal emits in a year.

And what’s good for China seems great for the next potential mining capitals.

In the more rural U.S., interest is turning some states into a hotbed. Texas in particular is bending over backwards to lure in China’s migrating miners with one company rapidly repurposing old warehouses and hangars into mining sites.
Crypto-friendly areas of Europe are receiving so many calls that they can't build facilities fast enough. One data center is even getting offers of a 50% share of future profits if they'll make space for mining machines.
And Kazakhstan surged to third place in global crypto production as many of China’s miners migrated over for Kazakhstan’s cheap electricity (easily half the price of competitor countries). One company has spent millions moving 320 machines from China to Kazakhstan.

China may have alternative motives, too. The country has been working on their own cyber currency that, unlike bitcoin, is not as energy intensive. This digital yuan furthers China’s already advanced market for cashless payments, makes illegal transactions easier to catch, and is deployed on the blockchain. It works similarly to their regular currency with regulation by the country’s central bank. A bank official even spoke in April and said the digital yuan seeks to offset the global usage of the dollar, concerning those in favor of the current USD-dominated global market.

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Find hope in the experts who believe bitcoin mining could help the world transition to renewable energy sources faster. Here’s how.

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RESOURCE CENTER

Financial Times:
(Where we found this story)
1 week old | 8 minutes long

CNBC:
China’s digital currency
5 months old | 9 minutes long

Jamestown Foundation:
Kazakhstan surges to third in global crypto production
2 weeks old | 7 minutes long

Slate:

Texas luring bitcoin mining companies
2 months old | 18 minutes long

Asia Financial:
The digital yuan’s energy usage
2 months old | 12 minutes long

Fortune:

Bitcoin’s CO2 emissions in China
1 month old | 4 minutes long

Crypto Briefing:
Why Europe is great for mining
1 year old | 13 minutes long

Wall Street Journal:

Bitcoin’s CO2 emissions in China
4 months old | 19 minutes long

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Monday: Unhoused LA residents have hardly anywhere left to live
Friday: Can teaching students civic participation unite America?

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Below the Fold - the great mining migration

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ICYMI (AGAIN)

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Back to school — but yours or mine?

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