Bitcoin Mining was intended to keep the Bitcoin blockchain decentralized
Bitcoin Mining was intended to keep the Bitcoin blockchain decentralized controlled by the peers of the community. Since the mining difficulty has increased significantly over the years, the process has become more complicated than ever before.
Countries with easily available cheap electricity have become a hub for Bitcoin miners, and this article would try to list some of the top countries which have the most number of Bitcoin miners.
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Bitcoin Mining
Bitcoin was introduced to the world in 2009 as a peer-to-peer cashless network, which is not controlled by any centralized bank or institutions. In order to verify the transaction and keep the ledger updated, Bitcoin network makes use of Proof of Work(PoW) protocol.
PoW is one of the oldest hashing protocol, which encrypts every transaction on the Bitcoin network with an SHA-256 algorithm. The hashing algorithm used for encryption has a predefined output for every input. So, it’s easy to verify whether the transaction on the network is a legit one, but next to impossible to alter any transaction by changing the input hash function.
For every change in the input hash function, the output hash function changes drastically. Making Proof of Work one of the best methods to keep the Blockchain decentralized.
Mining was intended to verify transactions on the network by peers, and in the earlier days, when there were not many people on the network, it was easy to mine blocks with a simple CPU based PC at home. Miners get a certain Block Reward for mining each block, currently, it’s 12.5 BTC.
As Bitcoin became popular, and its prices rose exponentially, people started using specific mining rigs to put in more computational power and mine the block faster than others.
Mining process became a legit business, and companies like Nvidia and AMD started producing specialized mining rigs with tons of computational power output especially for the miners. With heavy machinery being involved, the cost of electricity for the mining process also rose significantly, as the specialized mining rigs are run round the clock to get maximum profit.
In the last couple of years, the mining business has been hijacked by high-profile mining farms which create a setup of multiple mining rigs clubbed together to pump as much hash power as possible and mine the Bitcoin Blocks faster.
These mining farms are set up in countries where the electricity is cheap and available in plenty. Thus the concentration of Bitcoin miners are highest in these countries as well, be it individual miners or Mining farms. In the following section, we will look at which countries are mining heavens.
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Countries With Maximum Number of Bitcoin Miners
Bitcoin is a decade old phenomenon, but its impact on the global community has been largest in the shortest period of time. The technology of distributed ledger or Blockchain, in general, has impressed one and all. It is also being touted as the tool for the next industrial revolution.
Geographically countries which are the sucker for technology and where the electricity is available in plenty is considered as mining heavens. Miners have started to use their rigs as a source of heat to warm their homes, that is how much energy a mining rig can consume and emit enough heat to keep your homes warm. Now let us look at some of the noted countries which host the highest number of Bitcoin Miners.
China
China is known for its cheap labor and also being one of the most tech-savvy countries on earth. Add cheap electricity availability and you have got a perfect place to be a Bitcoin miner. China is one of the largest hosts for Bitcoin mining and its mining pools and individual miners are responsible for capturing highest hash power in the Bitcoin Mining.
The cheap electricity and a nation obsessed with technology make China the place for a maximum number of Bitcoin miners. It also hosts the highest number of mining pools in the world.
Georgia
Georgia house one of the biggest player in the Blockchain Technology business, BitFury. Bitfury is a known-name in the Bitcoin mining industry since it produces and sells some of the most bought mining hardware for Bitcoin. Apart from selling Bitcoin Mining equipment, it also has one of the biggest mining-farms in the world.
Till 2016, Bitfury was responsible for mining 15% of the total Bitcoin, and still play a major part in putting in the high amount of computational power through its mining pools and mining farms.
United States
21 Inc. is a well-known mining farm and a company vested in providing mining solutions and types of equipment. During the peak of 2016 mining race, 21 inc. was responsible for mining world’s 3% Bitcoin. It runs a huge mining operation in California and also specializes in hardware and mining rigs for the users.
The United States might be tough with its regulation and continuous tryst with Cryptocurrency exchanges, but that does not stop people from mining Bitcoin.
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Conclusion
Bitcoin mining is hacked by the big Blockchain companies like Bitfury and 21 inc, as they have the resources to generate enough computational power to mine the blocks faster than others. Many of you might think that the mining process is a community work with various people setting up rigs in their homes.
However, apart from the above-listed countries, the rest only contribute 20% to the total Bitcoin mining process. This might give you an idea on the dominance of these mining farms and pools on the Bitcoin mining or any other cryptocurrency mining.
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