Hashrate Data Shows China Back in Mining Spotlight After Years Underground

China’s Bitcoin mining industry, which was thought to be crushed after the sweeping 2021 ban, is quietly reassembling itself on a massive scale.

By late October 2025, new estimates suggest the country had surged back to roughly 14% of global hashrate, reclaiming its position as the world’s third-largest mining hub – despite operating almost entirely outside official approval.

The revival underscores a truth the crackdown never erased: China’s enormous energy overproduction, idle computing infrastructure, and well-connected mining networks were never dismantled; they simply went dark and waited for the right moment to re-emerge.

Ultra-cheap electricity remains the backbone of this comeback. Regions like Xinjiang generate far more power than they can use or export, creating pockets of energy priced low enough for miners to operate quietly through informal deals or discreet data center partnerships. At the same time, a nationwide glut of underutilized data centers – built during an earlier investment boom – has created ideal environments for miners. These facilities, rich in cooling capacity and often half-empty, provide miners both operational efficiency and a degree of invisibility.

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Soaring Bitcoin prices over the past year have only accelerated the trend. With mining profitability rising sharply, small operators and larger groups alike have reactivated dormant facilities or secured new locations under the radar.

There are also signs that the regulatory climate has subtly shifted. While Beijing has not formally reversed the 2021 prohibition, enforcement has softened, and Hong Kong’s pro-crypto pivot – complete with spot ETF approvals and a stablecoin regulatory framework – suggests a growing tolerance for digital assets within the broader Chinese policy sphere. These softer signals have given underground miners more room to operate without the sweeping raids seen in previous years.

Data from Hashrate Index now confirms China’s mining return, placing it at 14% of global output after having been declared nearly erased just a few years earlier. Meanwhile, mining manufacturer Canaan reports a sharp rebound in domestic sales, with China once again accounting for more than half of its global revenue in Q2 – a sign that miners are not only active but reinvesting heavily.

Despite an official ban still on the books, Bitcoin mining in China never truly died. It adapted, dispersed, and moved into the shadows – and now, buoyed by strong economics and a looser regulatory atmosphere, it is rising once again.

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