Amid China’s crackdown on crypto miners, small hydropower plants close shop
Since China began its clampdown on crypto mining activities in late May, there have been reports that miners are selling their rigs. Following China’s swift and sweeping crackdown, it would not come as a surprise to find mining rigs and other related items being listed on sites for secondhand items. However, it may come as a shock to many that power plants are now part of the items being sold as China continues to intensify its anti-crypto stance, the South China Morning Post reported on Tuesday.
According to the article, there has been an increase in the number of hydro plant adverts on Xianyu, a popular secondhand e-commerce website. Many of the listed small-scale power plants produce around 50 megawatts, with some of the sellers promising that buyers “can secretly mine cryptocurrency if [they] buy a hydropower station.”
As reported by BTC PEERS, several provinces have moved to cut Bitcoin mining facilities from the power grid since news of its crackdown broke. This has forced many miners out of the market. The owners of these small plants are obviously trying to cash out before the demand for cheap power dries up. Some major mining rigs are already relocating to more crypto-friendly regions.
A significant percentage of these plants are in the Southern Sichuan province, an area with extensive water resources that can provide cheap power. Last week, 26 Bitcoin mining farms were ordered to shut down in the region.
Graphic cards prices are also crashing
Bitcoin’s hash rate and price are not the only things that are crashing. In another report from the SCMP, the price of graphics cards plummeted after Sichuan officials restricted mining operations in the region.
The said graphics cards, which were primarily used by gamers, began spiking in prices when Bitcoin miners started using them extensively. Gamers were often left stranded and unable to purchase hardware to run HQ titles because these devices were either being hoarded for future sales or snatched up by miners. With China’s ongoing crackdown, miners can rejoice because the prices of cards have started dropping.
The SCMP said that the Nvidia Quadro P1000 was selling at $375 on Monday morning, a product that was almost $100 higher in price in early May.
