Ever since the Chinese government intensified its efforts to crack down on all activities related to cryptocurrency in the country, including putting an end to BTC mining in several provinces such as Xinjiang and Sichuan, not only have countless miners and traders been essentially forced to flee China, but a lot of the equipment and facilities have now also been put on sale.
As such, various ads for hydro plants (small-scale) were observed to have been posted on different e-commerce platforms, nearly all of which were second-hand in nature. The small-scale plants in the country are now looking for a new home thanks to the crackdown on crypto in China, and the hydro plants reportedly possess a 50-megawatt capacity as well. Among the list of e-commerce platforms, the likes of Xianyu had also been included.
Relation to crypto mining
Interestingly, a portion of the sellers indicated that the listings were, in fact, completely unrelated to any crypto mining activities and the mining industry in general, whereas others stated that the entire reason the sale was even happening was direct because of the aforementioned crackdown.
Furthermore, a particular seller had mentioned that many small-scale dams might depend on cryptocurrency miners as far as forming a customer base might be concerned due to the lack of approval from the government and various state authorities. Several environmental protection agencies had additionally been involved in the connection to the main power grid. It was also revealed by one seller that it is still possible to mine crypto provided that the individual who may choose to do so purchases a hydropower station.
The fleeing continues
As previously mentioned, many miners continue to flee China or risk facing severe penalties and legal action. One of Bitmain’s main rivals by the name of Canaan, alongside one of the biggest mining pools in the world, BTC.com, had both recently relocated to Kazakhstan due to the country’s relaxed laws surrounding crypto mining and related operations. Other popular destinations also included Texas and Miami.
In related news, China witnessed a significant drop in GPU prices. Certain reports indicated that this had mainly been caused by the lack of demand from crypto miners due to the crackdown. To provide an example, the Asus’ RTX 3060 had been sold for just about $730 in June, which is a massive dip from its previous price in May when it was selling for over $2,000.
