The US Is #1 In BTC Hash Rate

Republished By Plato

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October 14, 2021by Mark Murdock

October 14, 2021 / Unchained Daily / Laura Shin

Daily Bits ✍️✍️✍️

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What Do You Meme?

What’s Poppin’?

The latest data from the Cambridge Bitcoin Electricity Consumption Index (CBECI) shows that the United States is the country with the biggest share of Bitcoin’s hash rate.

According to the CBECI, the US accounts for 35.4% of Bitcoin’s hash power as of August 2021. The US is followed by Kazakhstan at 18.10% and Russia at 11.23%. Canada, which accounts for 9.55% of Bitcoin’s hash rate, is the only other country with a market share over 5%.

The latest data is almost jarring when compared to the CBECI’s report from August of 2020. Just look at the hash rate leaders from August 2020…

China = 66.86%
Russia = 8.17%
Kazakhstan = 4.57%
United States US 4.20%

The drastic change in the location of mining power follows China’s decision to crackdown on Bitcoin mining, as Michael Rauchs, the digital assets lead at the Cambridge Center for Alternative Finance, pointed out in an article analyzing the CBECI.

He wrote, “the immediate effect of the government-mandated ban on crypto mining in China was a 38% drop in global network hashrate in June 2021 – which corresponds roughly to China’s share of hashrate before the clampdown, suggesting that Chinese miners ceased operations simultaneously.” Rauch’s went on to add that “mining operations in mainland China have effectively dropped to zero.”

Rauch concluded by claiming that China’s crackdown is good for Bitcoin:

“The effect of the Chinese crackdown is an increased geographic distribution of hashrate across the world, which can be considered a positive development for network security and the decentralised principles of Bitcoin.”

On The Pod…

Visa Is Building Infrastructure for NFTs, Smart Contracts, and L2s. Why?

Cuy Sheffield, Visa’s head of crypto, discusses Visa’s crypto game plan, stablecoin regulation, NFTs, and more. Show highlights:

Cuy’s background and his journey down the crypto rabbit hole
how Visa and cryptocurrency can coexist
why crypto companies and fintech companies are similar
what Visa is trying to solve for consumers regarding cryptocurrencies
how cross-chain payment infrastructure would work
why Visa requires enhanced diligence for crypto companies
what countries can learn from stablecoins when building CBDCs
why Visa is creating a universal payment channel for CBDCs and other cryptocurrencies
why Visa chose USDC to begin making payments with
the two main reasons why stablecoins are used (hint: it’s not for buying cups of coffee)
how cryptocurrency is changing financial education and inclusion
how crypto’s open-source ethos is helping underserved and emerging markets build financial infrastructure
why NFTs are Cuy’s favorite topic
how NFTs level the playing field for black artists (and artists in general)
why Visa purchased a CryptoPunk and how other businesses could leverage NFTs