Four years after banning mining and trading of digital assets, China has quietly become one of the world’s largest Bitcoin mining centers.
Despite the 2021 ban, China now accounts for 14.06% of Bitcoin’s total hashrate, ranking third in the world after the United States and Russia at 145 exahashes per second (EH/s), according to new data from Luxor’s Global Hashrate Map.
In 2021, the Chinese government began a wide-ranging crackdown on digital assets, including Bitcoin.
The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) has outlawed all digital asset transactions, citing financial crimes, fraud, and the instability that digital assets can bring to the national economy. Mining operations were quickly targeted and shut down.
But the miners never went away. Many moved their equipment to remote areas where enforcement was weaker. Xinjiang, with its cheap and reliable energy, has reportedly become a key location for these covert operations.
Industry officials currently believe that most of the country’s underground mining remains active in remote areas of Xinjiang.
According to the Luxor Global Hashrate Map for Q4 2025, the country’s share of the world’s Bitcoin mining power increased slightly from 13.8% in the previous quarter to 14.05%, a small but significant increase. At the same time, Bitcoin’s global hash rate exceeded 1,100 EH/s, entering a new “Zettahash era”.
Related: Bitcoin hashrate reaches 1 zettahash per second for the first time in history
Hashrate index data also shows this trend. The US still leads with about 37.8% of the world’s mining power, followed by Russia with 15.5%, but despite the ban, China is in a strong third place. This is how resilient and adaptive China’s mining communities are.
Experts say it is impossible to completely curb mining. As long as you have electricity, an internet connection, and the necessary hardware, you can join the global Bitcoin mining race.
Many believe that bans will be difficult to enforce in the suburbs of large cities, which is one reason China’s hashrate persists.
Energy remains the biggest draw. Xinjiang’s grid and geography are ideal for clandestine mining. Small businesses often operate quietly, sometimes using renewable or surplus energy to operate under the radar.
Despite the risk of government penalties, many believe the reward will be worth it, especially since Bitcoin’s price will exceed $110,000 as of late 2025.
China may have banned domestic mining, but it still dominates the global Bitcoin mining landscape. More than 95% of the world’s Bitcoin mining machines (ASICs) are manufactured by Chinese companies such as Bitmain, MicroBT, and Canaan.
This manufacturing advantage has given China indirect control over most of the world’s mines. Most equipment, spare parts and technical expertise trace back to China. This means that even overseas miners rely heavily on equipment made in China.
This has raised national security concerns in the U.S. Sanjay Gupta, Oradin’s chief strategy officer, said more than 1 million Chinese-made bitcoin mining machines running foreign firmware are connected to the U.S. power grid.
He warned that this “could pose a significant cybersecurity risk” if a coordinated attack resulted in compromised systems.
The US government is already paying attention. According to reports, tariffs on Chinese mining hardware will be introduced, and the tariffs could rise to 155%. Officials say reducing dependence on Chinese equipment is important for energy and infrastructure security.
Still, some experts caution against overestimating the threat.
Khan Farahani, a researcher at Luxor, explained that the primary purpose of the Global Hashrate Map is to determine how Bitcoin mining activity is distributed around the world, rather than tracking ownership or intent.
Farahani noted that Luxor is not aware of any security issues or threats related to China’s mining operations.