A slight increase in bitcoin mining activities in China has reignited discussions about the possibility of loosening governmental restrictions on this energy-intensive industry. Despite this uptick, experts remain skeptical about the likelihood of China reversing its mining ban. Recent data from the Hashrate Index, operated by the U.S.-based bitcoin mining firm Luxor Technology, reveals that China’s share of the global bitcoin mining market by hash rate has risen from 13.75 percent in the first quarter of 2025 to 14.06 percent in the current quarter. This positions China as the third-largest bitcoin mining nation, following the United States and Russia.
Historically, China’s involvement in bitcoin mining has fluctuated dramatically. The country’s hash rate—a measure of the network’s processing power for transaction verification and new cryptocurrency token mining—plummeted to zero in July 2021, shortly after the government pledged to clamp down on bitcoin mining officially. However, within two months, China’s market share had rebounded to a notable 22.29 percent by September 2021, according to the Cambridge Bitcoin Electricity Consumption Index (CBECI), which subsequently ceased updates in February 2022.
The recent revival of bitcoin mining within the country aligns with a growing chorus of calls from experts advocating for a reevaluation of the stringent mining ban. Scholars are pushing the narrative that China could better utilize its surplus renewable energy through cryptocurrency mining. For instance, Guojun He, an economics professor at the University of Hong Kong, argued in a March article that reinstating crypto mining could play a pivotal role in China’s transition to carbon neutrality. He posits that the excess renewable energy generated in the country could be effectively harnessed by the bitcoin mining sector.
On the other hand, the Chinese government has been steadfast in its crackdown on cryptocurrency-related activities. Authorities have consistently argued that such operations undermine economic and financial stability and create a fertile ground for criminal activities. As such, the future of bitcoin mining in China remains tangled in regulatory challenges, making any potential shift in policy uncertain.
