Why the ‘great China Bitcoin mining crackdown’ fell short of early claims

Data suggests that fears about Xinjiang-related Bitcoin mining have overstated the impact, with hashrate losses proving brief and driven partly by US power curtailments.

Recent claims of a major Bitcoin mining crackdown in China’s Xinjiang region rippled through the digital asset industry this week, but data by TheMinerMag suggests the actual impact was far smaller than early narratives implied.

According to the latest Miner Weekly report, the Bitcoin network initially experienced a short-term hashrate decline, which was linked to developments in Xinjiang. However, the drop also coincided with power curtailments in the United States.

Most major mining pools recovered to near pre-dip levels within days, resulting in a net decline of roughly 20 exahashes per second, which is significantly lower than the approximately 100 EH/s loss cited in early reports. “That points to a largely temporary disruption rather than a sustained, region-specific shutdown,” the report said. 

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