(AF) China has seen a decline in its use of energy to create bitcoin, the Financial Times reported, adding that the slide had begun before a recent crackdown on the so-called miners.
Although still the largest user of power to mine bitcoin, China is now – for the first time – responsible for less than half of all energy consumed worldwide to create the cryptocurrency, according to the report, which cited data from the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance.
The report also said the data had detected a seasonal shift of miners from the coal-using northwest Xinjiang region to the south, where they tap hydro-electricity produced during the rainy season. It said, however, that tracking mining groups’ energy use had become difficult because many had struck private deals with off-grid power companies.
