{"id":407713,"date":"2022-02-19T23:13:00","date_gmt":"2022-02-19T20:13:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/mining-worldwide-where-should-crypto-miners-go-in-a-changing-landscape\/"},"modified":"2022-02-19T23:13:00","modified_gmt":"2022-02-19T20:13:00","slug":"mining-worldwide-where-should-crypto-miners-go-in-a-changing-landscape","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/mining-worldwide-where-should-crypto-miners-go-in-a-changing-landscape\/","title":{"rendered":"# Mining worldwide: Where should crypto miners go in a changing landscape?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_85 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a30d1c035173\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a30d1c035173\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/mining-worldwide-where-should-crypto-miners-go-in-a-changing-landscape\/#North_America\" >North America<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/mining-worldwide-where-should-crypto-miners-go-in-a-changing-landscape\/#Latin_America\" >Latin America<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/mining-worldwide-where-should-crypto-miners-go-in-a-changing-landscape\/#Mining_is_still_possible_in_Europe\" >Mining is still possible in Europe<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/mining-worldwide-where-should-crypto-miners-go-in-a-changing-landscape\/#Is_mining_worth_it\" >Is mining worth it?<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<p>&#8220;<strong># Mining worldwide: Where should crypto miners go in a changing landscape? <\/strong>&#8221;<\/p>\n<div class=\"post-content\" data-v-128018ef>One of the main <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">theme<\/a>s among the crypto community in 2021 was China\u2019s aggressive policy toward mining, which led to a complete ban on such activities in September.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>While mining as a type of financial activity has not gone away and is unlikely to disappear, Chinese cryptocurrency miners had to look for a new place to set up shop. Many of them moved to the United States \u2014 the world\u2019s new mining mecca \u2014 while some left to Scandinavia and others to nearby Kazakhstan, with its cheap electricity.<\/p>\n<p>Mining activities can\u2019t stay under the radar forever, and governments around the world have begun to raise concerns over electricity capacity and power outages.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Erik Thed\u00e9en, vice-chair of the European Securities and Markets Authority \u2014 who also serves as director <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/general\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"3\" title=\"General\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">general<\/a> of the Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority \u2014 has called for a ban on mining proof-of-work cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC) in Europe.<\/p>\n<p>As jurisdictions around the world begin to crack down on mining-related activities, it begs the question: \u201cWhere is it still profitable, and legally favorable, to mine crypto?\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Related: <\/em><\/strong><strong><em>Finding a new home: Bitcoin miners settling down after China exodus<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"North_America\"><\/span>North America<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>It\u2019s no secret that the U.S. is the main country for crypto mining, particularly in the Lone Star State, Texas. After the exodus from China, crypto miners and billions of dollars of capital flooded into the southern state. This is largely due to state policy, with Governor Greg Abbott having actively supported the Bitcoin industry.<\/p>\n<p>Philip Salter, CEO of crypto mining firm Genesis Digital Assets, told Cointelegraph the reason the state became a popular destination for miners:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u201cThe most prominent location for miners worldwide may be Texas right now. Its huge amounts of wind and solar power are causing a surplus of affordable energy. Privately owned power grids ensure a fast path for new projects, without being hindered by slow bureaucracy. The benefits of Texas aren\u2019t so new though. Miners started building there already years ago, even if not as aggressively as now.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Texas has experienced its own problems with electricity infrastructure, with massive blackouts affecting much of the state in 2021 amid unseasonable winter storms. But miners there have been relatively understanding about electricity consumption, and large companies have even periodically turned off equipment to give priority to residential consumers and critical infrastructure.<\/p>\n<p>America\u2019s northern neighbor, Canada, has also been actively attracting mining companies. Recently, authorities in Alberta <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tesmanian.com\/blogs\/tesmanian-blog\/alberta-introduces-cryptocurrency-mining-to-diversify-its-economy\">invited<\/a> cryptocurrency miners to the province, touting its cheap electricity prices thanks to an abundance of local natural gas.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Latin_America\"><\/span>Latin America<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Latin American countries have been expending considerable effort to attract miners, with El Salvador, in particular, showing a favorable attitude toward mining. The country was the first in the world to recognize Bitcoin as legal tender. The Salvadoran government has not hesitated to directly invest in Bitcoin and even plans to build a city dedicated to the preeminent cryptocurrency where electricity to mine BTC will reportedly come from volcano-fired geothermal plants.<\/p>\n<p>Costa Rica is also gradually becoming mining-friendly due to low electricity prices. Thanks to mining, a hydroelectric power plant that was closed during the COVID-19 pandemic has now <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/technology\/costa-rica-hydro-plant-gets-new-lease-life-crypto-mining-2022-01-11\/\">reopened<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Large crypto companies have also begun to set up operations in Costa Rica. Chia Network, a blockchain network created by BitTorrent founder Bram Cohen, has <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.businesswire.com\/news\/home\/20211111005809\/en\/Costa-Rica-and-Chia-Announce-Partnership-to-Support-Climate-and-Government-Initiatives\">agreed<\/a> to provide technical services for Costa Rica\u2019s national climate change initiatives.<\/p>\n<p>Argentina was very popular among miners until the government decided recently to cut subsidies for miners and raise taxes on mining activities. So far, these financial policy changes for mining are limited to the province of Tierra del Fuego, which is known for its cold climate. Nevertheless, Argentina remains a good place for mining farms even after the electricity price increases, keeping in mind the energy crisis in competing regions like Europe.\u00a0<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Mining_is_still_possible_in_Europe\"><\/span>Mining is still possible in Europe<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Crypto mining operations in Europe remain relatively limited, as high electricity prices amid the energy crisis and a generally skeptical attitude toward cryptocurrencies from regulators make crypto firms think twice before locating to the continent.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Indeed, the Nordic nation of Iceland was previously a hotspot for Bitcoin mining, with its subarctic volcanic landscape providing cheap electricity and low cooling costs for mining farms.<\/p>\n<figure><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/s3.cointelegraph.com\/uploads\/2022-02\/ca64b19f-6f66-4450-9778-cac0c7996f36.jpeg\"><figcaption style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>A mining farm of Genesis Mining in Iceland. Source: <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/User:Marco_Krohn\">Marco Krohn<\/a>.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>However, late last year, the country\u2019s national electrical company, Landsvirkjun, cut the amount of power it would provide to energy-intensive industries like Bitcoin mining and aluminum smelting, citing capacity concerns.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Despite limitations on the continent, there are a few spots in Europe where miners have decided to set up shop where geography and climate play an important factor in attracting business.<\/p>\n<p>In Georgia, located in the Caucasus region, the large number of hydroelectric power plants built during the country\u2019s time as a Soviet republic \u2014 along with its relatively modest population \u2014 have provided a large amount of cheap electricity for miners.<\/p>\n<p>Major crypto mining companies have already set up operations in the country. Back in 2014, Dutch mining company Bitfury <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/agenda.ge\/en\/news\/2015\/2834\">opened<\/a> its first data center, with a draw of 20 megawatts, in the eastern Georgian city of Gori.<\/p>\n<p>The success of Bitfury opened the eyes of many Georgians who actively began to acquire powerful video cards and create their own small crypto mining farms. According to the World Bank, 5% of the Georgian population was <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.worldbank.org\/en\/news\/press-release\/2018\/05\/08\/in-georgia-blockchain-technologies-provide-significant-opportunity-to-innovate-improve-services-for-citizens\">engaged<\/a> in crypto mining in 2018.<\/p>\n<p>It should also be noted that Russia remains an epicenter for crypto mining thanks to low energy costs and a cold climate.<\/p>\n<p>Andrei Loboda, public relations director of BitRiver \u2014 the largest cryptocurrency mining colocation services provider in Russia \u2014 shared with Cointelegraph some specific regions where it will be convenient for miners to work if the Russian government becomes more supportive of cryptocurrencies:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u201cAccording to BitRiver, today, about 300,000 individuals are engaged in mining Bitcoin alone in the Russian Federation. Our company performs energy-intensive, high-speed computing in data centers in a number of the Russian Federation regions, including the Irkutsk Region and the Krasnoyarsk Territory. The green and digital technologies that we implement in our work as part of the digital energy transition have already given an additional impetus to the development of the regions.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Is_mining_worth_it\"><\/span>Is mining worth it?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Geography is a critical element for miners to consider, be it for electricity and cooling costs or regulatory concerns. However, there are some expenses, like hardware, that miners will carry with them wherever they go.<\/p>\n<p>With demand for mining equipment on the rise and a recent slump in the markets after 2021\u2019s bull run, when is mining worth it with all the hardware costs?<\/p>\n<figure><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/s3.cointelegraph.com\/uploads\/2022-02\/6fc04e0a-776d-4026-bb4a-d49c33f51f87.jpeg\"><figcaption style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>A homemade Bitcoin mining rig with GPUs. Source: Bitcoin Wiki.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>2021 was the most profitable <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/bitinfocharts.com\/comparison\/ethereum-mining_profitability.html#alltime\">year<\/a> for mining Ether (ETH) with graphics processing units since 2016. This is not surprising, as Ether\u2019s price more than quadrupled last year. But the main issue for miners is electricity and equipment expenses, and the price of the latter is growing rapidly.<\/p>\n<p>Nevertheless, while the profitability of Ether mining remains high, the payoff period for equipment purchases is growing, partly due to the London hard fork in August 2021 that reduced the payout for each block mined from 8\u201320 ETH to 2 ETH. Another negative factor for miners will be the much-anticipated transition of the Ethereum blockchain to a proof-of-stake consensus, after which they will have to start mining altcoins or recertify as stakers on the network.<\/p>\n<p>The Bitcoin network\u2019s mining difficulty recently hit an all-time high despite the strong decrease in BTC\u2019s price in January, which hit a monthly low of around $34,300.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>It is surprising that, against this background, the cost of ASICs didn\u2019t <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.statista.com\/statistics\/1224131\/cryptomining-rig-price-development\/\">fall<\/a>. At the same time, the ASIC payoff period this year is a little over 1,000 days, or almost three years. Not everyone can afford to carry those expenses for such a long time.<\/p>\n<p>There are a multitude of changing factors that miners have to take into consideration, but one thing is clear: Cryptocurrency mining is a flexible, adaptive industry, and firms have proven they are willing to relocate to more beneficial locations should their current one prove less than ideal.<\/p>\n<p><template data-name=\"subscription_form\" data-type=\"crypto_biz\"><\/template><\/div>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News<\/a> articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/general\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">General category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/news\/mining-worldwide-where-should-crypto-miners-go-in-a-changing-landscape\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;# Mining worldwide: Where should crypto miners go in a changing landscape? &#8221; One of the main themes among the crypto community in 2021 was China\u2019s aggressive policy toward mining, which led to a complete ban on such activities in September.\u00a0 While mining as a type of financial activity has not gone away and is&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":407714,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/images.cointelegraph.com\/images\/1200_aHR0cHM6Ly9zMy5jb2ludGVsZWdyYXBoLmNvbS91cGxvYWRzLzIwMjItMDIvZTgyMmE1MmQtMGRlZC00OWEzLWIyNzUtYzNhNTQyMGFhMzUwLmpwZw==.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[74862,74937,74858,74863,74871,78717,74891,75042,74892,117,70752,71511,55229,70934,4965],"class_list":["post-407713","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general","tag-bitcoin","tag-bitcoin-price","tag-bitcoin-regulation","tag-cryptocurrencies","tag-electricity","tag-energy-consumption","tag-ethereum","tag-mining","tag-tokens","tag-business","tag-energy","tag-government","tag-law","tag-regulation","tag-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/407713","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=407713"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/407713\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/407714"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=407713"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=407713"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=407713"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}