The amount of computing power utilized for mining additional units of Bitcoin has reached very close to an all-time high, even as crypto miners are shifting their operations to other countries after the Chinese government’s clampdown. According to the latest data, the bitcoin hash-rate, which measures the difficulty level of mining new coins, has reached the highest since May to 172m terahashes per second. This increase shows that a greater number of miners are dedicating their computing resources to solve complex puzzles for which they receive rewards in the form of new bitcoins. Since May, after China outlawed crypto mining activities in the country, miners have been shifting to other countries. 

Bitcoin critics have been focusing on the negative impacts on the environment because of bitcoin mining because it requires a massive amount of energy. The US has now become the largest home for bitcoin miners who are dedicated to minting new coins in the world. This pace of recovery is an indicator of the difficulties that authorities are facing in regulating the global and highly-mobile crypto industry. Market experts said that China’s ban only resulted in a geographic shift in mining towards countries like the United States and Canada. Mining companies in the US and other areas were able to unlock a profit windfall due to the geographical reshuffle. 

Miners relocated to facilities in countries, such as the US, Norway, Canada, and Iceland, which offer cheap sources of energy. Bitcoin miners are a key element of the crypto market because they mine new coins as well as ensure the security of its technology that relies on powerful computers to solve mathematical equations. If the hash-rate is high, it means disrupting a crypto network is harder. When the price of bitcoin increases, it gives miners an incentive to turn on as many machines as possible, which explains the high pace these days. 

Even though the industry has bounced back, the ban in China has had a big impact because it is a fact that the rate of production would definitely be higher if there hadn’t been a clampdown. One of the largest mining companies in the world, Bitfury said that even though there had been recovery, the hash-rate would certainly be higher with China. However, it is also worth noting that the shutdown in China has also forced miners to look for energy efficient equipment and this has given hash-rates a boost. The largest bitcoin-mining provinces in China had clamped down on mining for cutting down carbon emissions and for moving away from private cryptocurrencies because it is working on its own digital coin. 

The crackdown had had an impact on the entire mining industry and in its immediate aftermath, the bitcoin mining difficulty had halved. But, there has been a steady recovery in bitcoin prices and miners have also enjoyed the benefits of a shortage in equipment and capacity of mining more crypto. Last week, a US-listed miner named Marathon Digital reported that it would reach record mining levels by the mid of next year.