The largest Bitcoin farm in the world. The most unusual mining farms in the world in photographs
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01/11/2018, Thu, 12:00, Moscow time, Text: Valeria Shmyrova
The media has obtained a document in which the Chinese government instructs regional authorities to gradually eliminate cryptocurrency mining in the country. Three quarters of all bitcoins are mined in China. Miners are attracted cheap electricity and established supply of computer components.
Mining ban in China
China is taking steps to eliminate Bitcoin mining on its territory, since it wastes too much electricity and carries financial risks, the publication writes. Financial Times. A group of several Chinese departments, which includes the People's Bank of China, has already instructed provincial governments to actively manage the exit of companies located in their territories from the bitcoin mining business. A copy of the instructions is available to the Financial Times.
Bitcoin mining “consumes large amounts of electricity and also supports the spirit of speculation in ‘virtual currencies’,” the document states. Mining undermines government efforts to combat financial risks and activities that are “at odds with the needs of the real economy.” At the same time, the order does not call on regional authorities to directly eliminate mining, but rather recommends squeezing it out of their territory, forcing them to strictly comply with regulations on electricity consumption, land use, payment of taxes and environmental standards.
The author of the document is the so-called Leading Group for Restructuring Financial Risks on the Internet, formed in China in 2016. It is headed by Pan Gongsheng(Pan Gongsheng), Deputy Governor of the People's Bank. The document itself dates back to January 2, Quartz clarifies. In addition to the provisions already mentioned, the instruction instructs regional authorities to submit data on mining capacities in the regions under their control, as well as information on progress in their elimination by the 10th day of each month.
Mining in China
According to Liao Xiang(Liao Xiang), head of Lightningasic, a bitcoin mining company in Shenzhen, Chinese miners produce about three-quarters of all new bitcoins in the world. At the same time, global mining as a whole accounts for 0.17% of humanity’s electricity consumption. According to the Digiconomist resource, 161 countries in the world consume less electricity. IN individual regions In China, electricity is so cheap that miners will continue to make a profit even if the Bitcoin rate drops by half, Bloomberg calculated.
China takes action against energy-intensive cryptocurrency mining
Chinese miners typically organize coin production in remote parts of the country, without necessarily registering their business. Some of them, contrary to government regulations, buy electricity directly from electricity producers, rather than from grid operators. The most popular regions for mining are those rich in coal or hydroelectric power plants, since energy prices are lower there. The Financial Times cites Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia, Sichuan and Yunnan as examples.
Where will Chinese miners go?
Chinese miners are currently looking for ways to move coin production overseas, either by physically transporting equipment or by selling competencies. They are looking for locations with cheap electricity and a cool climate where the equipment will not overheat. The Financial Times names Canada, Iceland, and Eastern Europe and Russia.
According to Liao Xiang, moving mining to another country will not be easy - it will require time and expense to build data centers. The reason is increased energy consumption, the requirements of which are not met by “ordinary industrial parks”. According to other industry representatives interviewed by the Financial Times, China is not attracting miners because low prices for electricity in certain regions, but because of the well-established supply chain for computer components.
Cryptocurrency ban in Korea
At the same time the government South Korea announced its plans to ban trading in cryptocurrencies, reports the Reuters news agency. According to the Korean Minister of Justice Park Sang Ki(Park Sang-ki), the government is already preparing a document that will ban transactions with virtual currencies on Korean exchanges. Meanwhile, local police and tax authorities are raiding Korean cryptocurrency exchanges over suspected tax evasion.
According to the minister, the decision was discussed for a long time with the Ministry of Finance and various financial regulators. When the bill is prepared, it will require the approval of a majority of the 297 members of parliament. This process can take months or even years, writes Reuters.
The government's decision provoked a massive sale of cryptocurrencies on Korean and offshore exchanges. Following the Justice Minister's announcement, Bitcoin fell 21% in price in Korea, but is still trading on average 30% higher than in other countries, at just over $17,000.
The statement by the Korean authorities provoked a decline in the Bitcoin rate around the world. According to the Bitfinex resource, at the beginning of Thursday Bitcoin was hovering around $15 thousand, but on news from Korea it fell to $12,639. This is its lowest rate in 2018.
The most famous mining farms for bitcoin production all over the world. Today we will learn about the largest and most famous farms, which amaze with their scope.
This is more of an informational article, but it is also useful for understanding the whole meaning and scale of making money on Bitcoins.
Bitcoin mining- this is the very first cryptocurrency that began to be mined, more about this in the article: . But today mining consists of entire factories and they produce not only the well-known bitcoins, but also many other currencies. Previously, it was possible to mine coins on a simple home computer, but gradually the complexity is increasing, there are more and more people wanting to do it, and the equipment is becoming more and more expensive.
If this is the first time you have heard about this, then read the article: well, we move on.
What is a mining farm and how does it work?
Farms perform calculations using computer power (most often using video cards), thus producing new coins. How this happens is described in the article. A total of 3600 BTC is allocated for mining per day. Each user who participates in mining receives an equal share of its power. This is the example of Bitcoin; other cryptocurrencies are mined using similar parameters. They differ only in their characteristics (extraction algorithm) and the amount of reward.
It is for this reason that huge cryptocurrency mining farms are being built. Many who stood at the origins have already become millionaires, as the Bitcoin rate has risen to an incredible $7,500, and in some countries reached $9,000.
Up to this day It’s also profitable to assemble small mining farms at home and they pay for themselves. Even after the release of ASICs for calculating SHA-256, which is designed specifically for mining. It's kind of turnkey mining farm, which today are issued with an emphasis on a specific currency.
Largest Bitcoin Farm in Hong Kong
Most of the largest farms are concentrated in China (due to cheap electricity) and Iceland (due to the cool climate), but let's start with a farm in Hong Kong. Located eight miles from financial center city, in the Kwai Chung region. The farm itself is small in terms of area, but produces a huge amount of power due to modern equipment.
The farm is built in the form of racks on which ASIC chips are located, and it is they that generate the power that mines bitcoins. These chips are designed specifically for mining digital currency, they work extremely quietly, but apart from the task at hand (mining), they can’t do anything else.
Mining farm in Hong Kong called ASICMINER. Many investors have invested in it, including from China.
Hong Kong was not chosen by chance; firstly, it is close to the manufacturer (China), and secondly, there are no such problems that began in China in relation to mining. Chinese energy campaigns want to increase the cost of electricity, and as you know, most of the largest mining farms in China were built using cheap electricity.
On this large farm, they use the most innovative technologies. The bubbling liquid is refrigerant produced by 3M, which cools running ASIC chips.
Due to liquid cooling this farm began to generate more income compared to traditional farm building solutions. Most often, to reduce heat, radiators and powerful fans are used, which also consume a lot of electricity.
But radiators are also present in this largest farm in Hong Kong. They are installed on the roof of the building and provide additional heat transfer.
Founder of a mining farm in Hong Kong Chinese company Allied Control, Kar-Wing Lau, its vice president. In one interview, he stated that the cost of electricity for such a farm exceeds fifty thousand dollars.
The largest mining farm in China HaoBTC
China is still the leader among countries where mining on an industrial scale is profitable. According to statistics, more than half of all pools are concentrated in China. Of course, everything can change if there is no agreement on electricity, but for now China is in first place. After all, what remains here is cheap labor and their unpretentiousness, they are ready to work in almost any conditions and, of course, the availability of equipment, since China is the main supplier.
One of the largest Bitcoin mining farms is the Chinese HaoBTC campaign.. The American press NYTimes published an interview with the founders of the campaign and, of course, with photographs of the farm itself.
Everything here does not look as modern as on the Hong Kong farm, but nevertheless, the farm produces a hashrate of 4.7 PH. What does the farm look like from the inside? You can watch this video from one of the secret bitcoin farms in China:
The largest mining farm in Russia
There are quite a few large cryptocurrency mining farms; you can write about each of them individually on a whole page or more. But they are all based on the same principle and therefore we have touched upon only a few. But they couldn’t bypass the largest mining farm in Russia, because you can understand that this is real for our lives. Watch a video about the largest farm in Russia. How it was created, how much energy it consumes and how many bitcoins it brings in per month
There are about 3 thousand Antmainer S9 machines installed on the farm; their power reaches 38 PH/S. There are only 4 specialists to maintain the farm. At the beginning of 2017, the farm’s income was 600 bitcoin coins per month, now perhaps a little less coins are mined, but the cost of bitcoin has more than doubled.
The farm is equipped with all modern technologies: cooling, protection against short circuit, security and fire alarms.
In China you can already buy anything with bitcoins, goods and services. As a last resort, there is a service for transferring cryptocurrencies to any other non-crypto currency to any account, using the best rate, and not like with real money (running around banks/exchangers). Therefore, their interest in Bitcoin and Ethereum (and any more or less valuable crypto money) is very serious. So they are not afraid to invest millions of dollars in huge farms.
Video: Chinese mining farm
In general, if you don’t understand or don’t want to understand, don’t bother yourself, the Bitcoin network will still grow, with or without you. Blockchain is here to stay. At least as a technology. And people who are far from Bitcoin will not need to know how it works, they just use plastic like today, but that will happen later.
And about these Chinese. They simply support the virtual currency by donating the power of their computers to operate this currency, and the virtual currency pays them bitcoins for this, for providing the services of its existence. Since this currency is not stored on a separate PC, but on every computer in the world who uses it. Therefore, they cannot ban it or eliminate it.
This week, China stepped up its efforts against Bitcoin miners, issuing a notice calling on government task forces to “actively target” Bitcoin mining operations.
The Wall Street Journal report said the notice required an "orderly exit" and made no mention of a deadline. It also mentions that Bitcoin mining “consumes enormous amounts of electricity and also encourages a spirit of speculation with ‘virtual currencies’.” The notice also characterizes it as an activity that “departs from the needs of the real economy.”
Government officials in China have been asked to use tough policy measures to crack down on cryptocurrencies. This means that they will introduce and promulgate special regulations to limit various aspects of Bitcoin mining, including electricity consumption, land use, tax collection and environmental regulation.
China's importance to the Bitcoin mining ecosystem
Chinese supplies of abundant hydropower and cheap coal have helped energy companies optimize your operations during downtime.
Some argue that the centralization of Bitcoin mining in the country has led to the development of an efficient Bitcoin hashate. In turn, this has helped maintain a constant supply of Bitcoin and ensure profitability for miners despite rising costs and fees.
Will this affect Bitcoin mining operations?
Of course, China's announcement of a fight against Bitcoin is not a thunderbolt. clear skies, but quite a natural phenomenon. However, several prominent mining communities have already left the country. For example, Bitmain, the world's largest pool, has already organized mining in Inner Mongolia. Others move to colder climates, to countries such as Iceland.
According to the latest analytics, in Chinese politics. News of active actions against it in the country has already slightly reduced the price of Bitcoin at auction. It lost value and fell 1.2% in London to $13,580.50, according to Bloomberg. However, since the Chinese government has not indicated deadline, it is likely that the price will not yet experience radically unstable volatility.
China has launched an offensive against cryptocurrency and altcoin trading platforms
Tightening regulation of online platforms and mobile applications.
Citing people familiar with the matter, Bloomberg reported that China's regulators are taking a closer look at internet platforms and mobile applications that provide exchange services to clients. Last year, Chinese authorities banned trading in cryptocurrencies, but recently the country has been increasingly looking for it. Chinese regulators want to completely block people’s access to offshore and domestic platforms that allow the use of cryptocurrency trading. Sources, however, were unable to provide more detailed information about the types of policies that will be used in China.
The government is also targeting companies and individuals that enable cryptocurrency trading by providing services such as market making, settlement and clearing. Small peer-to-peer (P2P) transactions are not yet on the Chinese government's radar.
By prohibiting exchanges and initial coin offerings (ICOs). Last week, the state went against the most massive industry in the country. According to documents reviewed by The Financial Times, the Inter-Agency Task Force ordered regional authorities in their regions to “actively guide” firms in suspending their Bitcoin mining activities.
Analysts attribute the government's struggle and attacks to the fact that mining requires incredible use large quantity energy. According to BNEF, as of 2017, the demand for electricity for bitcoin mining has grown to 20.5 terawatt-hours per year. This is equivalent to more than half the 38 terawatt-hours of energy consumed annually by the world's largest miner, BHP Billiton Ltd.
By 2019 widespread received Bitcoin all over the world. Chinese mining farms are the most serious cryptocurrency producers.
Bitcoin is an electronic currency created 8 years ago by a programmer who called himself Satoshi Nakamoto. Basic principle: buying and selling without specifying data or involving third parties. Previously, it was possible to pay for this currency only in computer games. However, over the course of 7 years, it received further development: with bitcoin it became possible to pay for the services of hairdressers and manicurists, as well as food, clothing, and transport.
This currency has one important feature: it can be mined without spending money. To do this, you need to constantly solve mathematical problems generated by the Bitcoin program. It is this property that led to the organization and opening of companies primarily engaged in ensuring the security of Bitcoin and making money.
How it works?
Such firms and organizations are called farms. The principle of operation is to purchase and launch special computers by moving to servers. The technology begins to develop computational actions that boil down to searching for the same algorithm, and also withdraw some money to launch it on sale.
This process is called mining - that is, the release of currency to be put into operation.
From the outside this process looks like correct solution another mathematical problem, as a result of which cryptocurrency is transferred to the winner’s account. Currently, the size of such a reward is 25 coins.
To ensure that the reward does not exceed its limit, the network adjusts the complexity of the process in blocks, that is, it develops more complicated tasks.
Starting with simple video cards, earning btc moved to more expensive and advanced ones that use little energy but are more productive.
Mining farms in China – photo
For 2019, China is considered the winner in the production and withdrawal of cryptocurrency. Promotes low cost consumed electricity.
It is produced from coal, in the production of which China is firmly in third place. Thus, there are several largest mining farms:
- In Sichuan province. It is in this place that the energy production process is the highest - up to 80% in summer period time. In winter it reaches even more. Workers are engaged in cooling all computer systems. They live in a hostel located next to the farm. This mining farm in China is the largest and most productive.
- IN rural areas Liaoning province in northeast China. The farm is located on the second floor of a former factory. However, this organization does not give out either the photo or its exact name to anyone. It is one of the largest. It is managed by 4 people, who, in addition, have 5 more sites. In total, these people own three percent of the entire Bitcoin network.
- Another largest concern that mines bitcoins and turns them into real currency is a farm near Hong Kong. It is located in the Kwai Chung district and has quite modest size. However, only here there are racks with the latest system chips that work only with special-purpose computers.
What are the benefits of using Bitcoin?
All companies that have entered into an agreement with Bitcoin farms and invested their money and a little time in bulk make a profit after 9 months. This result is considered amazing in the business world.