There are various methods available to approximate Bitcoin’s geographical hashrate distribution, each having their own set of trade-offs and limitations. We opted for the top-down mining pool approach because it provides the right balance between data availability and robustness on one hand, as well as data granularity and confidentiality on the other hand. Our dataset empirically recorded for the first time the seasonal hashrate migration within mainland China which was previously only anecdotally observed. Since the government crackdown on the mining industry in June 2021, no data has been available – and the migrations have likely become a phenomenon of the past. Furthermore, the CCAF report reveals that many miners try to hide their IP addresses with the help of virtual private networks (VPNs) which makes it difficult to identify their specific location. Such kind of activity can badly deform the total estimation of geographic distribution and can result in overestimation according to some experts from CCAF.
Upon receiving individual pool data, we apply a number of data validation techniques to ensure that reported data is complete and constitutes a reasonable approximation. This is done, among others, by contrasting reported data to publicly observed data from third-party services such as Coin Metrics or BTC.com. A new Bitcoin mining map from a team affiliated with the University of Cambridge aims to visualize hash power by country for the very first time. This trend illustrates how the North American Bitcoin mining power capacity growth may be disrupted due to Bitcoin’s shrinking hashprice and the rising competition from the AI realm. As new interactive bitcoin mining map launched AI demand continues to surge and power-intensive training models multiply, the next stage of the game is perhaps how to reevaluate mining infrastructure as a competitive asset in the broader data infrastructure economy.
This sample may not be fully representative as it (i) represents less than half of Bitcoin’s total hashrate, and (ii) is dominated by mining pools previously headquartered in China. According to the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance (CCAF), the Bitcoin Mining Map is actually based on the IP addresses or in other words geographical-info of hashers. These IP addresses are directly connected with three major bitcoin mining pools which are BTC.com, Poolin, and ViaBTC, and collectively, these three refers to an estimated 37% of the Bitcoin total hash rate. The Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance (CCAF) which is affiliated with the University of Cambridge has introduced a new bitcoin data tool known as the “Bitcoin Mining Map” for tracking global bitcoin mining power.
A team affiliated with the University of Cambridge has released a new bitcoin data tool showing the countries with the highest concentration of mining activity. While China is still way out in front, its share of the hashrate has dropped roughly 10% since September. The data comes from APIs connected to three mining pools – BTC.com, Poolin, and ViaBTC – and took a year to develop. Blandin said it represented roughly 37% of total global hashrate and might skew too far against North America and Europe. They are hoping to plug in data from more mining pools and entities to create a more comprehensive picture. “This data may validate some market intuitions, drive greater transparency, and help participants in the conduct of their operations,” said Apolline Blandin, CCAF’s cryptocurrency and blockchain lead, to CoinDesk in an email.
Blandin said the map may at least confirm some Chinese miners may actually migrate from Sichuan to Xinjiang after the rainy season. Disclosure Read More The leader in blockchain news, CoinDesk is a media outlet that strives for the highest journalistic standards and abides by a strict set of editorial policies. CoinDesk is an independent operating subsidiary of Digital Currency Group, which invests in cryptocurrencies and blockchain startups. The CBECI mining map aims to track the geographic distribution of Bitcoin’s total hashrate over time.
Related News
Bitcoin now has multiple entries in the Guinness Book of World Records, including most valuable and the first decentralized cryptocurrency. Although major hardware producers like Bitmain and MicroBT have taken steps to localize some assembly in the U.S., the bulk of ASIC chip production still flows through geopolitically sensitive routes. Rising capital costs from tariffs could dampen hardware demand, especially as miners already weigh slimmer post-halving margins.
- Regional breakdowns are available for China and the United States, albeit the frequency of country-level updates may differ due to peculiarities of the data collection process.
- A new interactive map launched by Cambridge Center for Alternative Finance (CCAF) is offering a unique glimpse at where Bitcoin is being created.
- This trend illustrates how the North American Bitcoin mining power capacity growth may be disrupted due to Bitcoin’s shrinking hashprice and the rising competition from the AI realm.
- Average monthly hashrate share by country and region for the selected period, based on geolocational mining pool data.
Cambridge Bitcoin Electricity Consumption Index
- Meanwhile, the prospect of new Trump-era global tariffs adds fresh uncertainty to Bitcoin mining’s operational calculus.
- New mining map by the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance provides increased transparency of the industry for investors, policymakers, researchers and general public.
- “This data may validate some market intuitions, drive greater transparency, and help participants in the conduct of their operations,” said Apolline Blandin, CCAF’s cryptocurrency and blockchain lead, to CoinDesk in an email.
- Please note that CCAF has at no point access to the underlying IP addresses or any other sensitive pool data.
- Bitcoin now has multiple entries in the Guinness Book of World Records, including most valuable and the first decentralized cryptocurrency.
- The Cambridge Bitcoin Electricity Consumption Index currently estimates that the network is powered by 20.89 GW of capacity.
CCAF says the data provides transparency and a better snapshot of the crypto industry which can help guide investors, policy and decision makers, researchers and the public. Several large mining companies, most notably Core Scientific, have reallocated portions of their Bitcoin mining capacity to high-performance computing (HPC) services tailored for artificial intelligence workloads. Core’s Denton, Texas facility is a prime example—where mining machines were deracked last year in favor of AI-centric hosting clients.
Need help funding your degree programme studies at Cambridge Judge?
This is the first time that this data has been made available, providing increased transparency and a reliable picture of the industry for investors, policymakers, other decision-makers, academic researchers and the general public. The data that informs the map is qualified as a representative sample as the three mining pools involved currently collectively represent approximately 37 per cent of Bitcoin total hashrate over the examined period (September 2019 to April 2020). As a result, we never add new pools or retrospective data in isolation, which may occasionally result in delayed map updates as the timing of data sharing needs to be coordinated across pools. The sample serves as a proxy for the geographic distribution of Bitcoin’s total hashrate by means of extrapolation. We are in regular contact with industry experts, mining firms, and academics to monitor the situation and take appropriate actions where needed. In the rare event that these anomalies affect a significant share of the sample, publication will be postponed until we are sufficiently confident that issues have been resolved.
The Bitcoin Mining Map is based on the IP addresses
The timing of the map comes just before the next Bitcoin “halving”, expected on 11 May, at which time block rewards are divided by two. Bitcoin Mining Map shows that China still has the largest Bitcoin mining hash rate in the world, more than the United States and Russia. Out of the total global hash rate, China has a huge share of 65% while on the other hand, the United States and Russia are very far behind from China with 7.24% and 6.90% shares respectively. Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Iran, Canada, and Germany have their monthly shares of 6.17%, 4.33%, 3.82%, 0.82%, and 0.56% respectively as the below-given chart shows.
Bitcoin Tracking System Unveils BTC Mining Activity in Push for Global Transparency
New mining map by the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance at the Cambridge Judge Business School provides increased transparency of the industry for investors, policymakers, researchers and the general public. New mining map by the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance provides increased transparency of the industry for investors, policymakers, researchers and general public. Miners who shared their data represent 37% of BTC’s total hash rate over the period covering September of 2019 to April 2nd of this year. CCIF explains that by determining the IP addresses, researchers can map out where Bitcoin miners are located and how Bitcoin mining is distributed around the world. The CCAF Mining Map tracks the average monthly Bitcoin (BTC) hash rate by country using the IP addresses of miners who agreed to share their aggregate data.
Regional breakdowns are available for China and the United States, albeit the frequency of country-level updates may differ due to peculiarities of the data collection process. We plan to add more granularity with future updates to better capture regional hashing activities in other countries. If regional hashrate data is not available for a given pool, we extrapolate from the existing sample. The Bitcoin mining map is part of the CBECI—an index that attempts to provide a real-time estimate of the total annual electricity usage of the Bitcoin network, which the CCAF launched last summer. These three pools combined represent approximately 37% of Bitcoin’s total hash rate over the examined period, which started in September 2019. The Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance (CCAF), a research institute at the University of Cambridge business school in the UK, has launched an interactive map that shows the average monthly Bitcoin hash rate breakdown by different countries.
New interactive Bitcoin mining map launched
Malaysia (4.33%) and Iran (3.82%) are ranked 5th and 6th, while all other countries’ contributions to Bitcoin mining are less than one percent.
Comments
