* Chinese miners control 66% of bitcoin computer power
-research
* Increase may be down to deployment of better kit
* Global hashrate has grown 80% since June
* Greater concentration may benefit Chinese mining firms
By Tom Wilson
LONDON, Dec 11 (Reuters) - China's bitcoin miners now
control two-thirds of the crypto network's processing power,
research showed on Wednesday, a growing share that is likely to
benefit the country's miners.
Miners in China control 66% of global "hashrate", a measure
of the power of computers hooked up to the bitcoin network that
dictates their ability to produce new coins, according to a
report by digital asset manager CoinShares.
The Chinese share of hashrate, up from 60% in June, is the
highest recorded by CoinShares since it began tracking hashrate
nearly two years ago. The gains may be due to their greater
deployment of more advanced mining gear, said Chris Bendkisen,
the firm's head of research.
Chinese companies such as Bitmain and MicroBT are among the
world's biggest manufacturers of bitcoin mining gear. Another,
Canaan, launched a $90 million initial public offering
in November, indicating investor hunger for exposure to miners.
At bitcoin's current price of around $7,200,
miners produce bitcoin worth around $4.7 billion every year.
"This is beneficial to the Chinese mining industry," said
Bendiksen. "If you are the first to increase your proportion of
the hashrate, and you can do that before your competitors,
that's generally good."
Crypto mining is a highly opaque sector, with little
reliable data on the bitcoin network or bitcoin miners.
Bitcoin miners draw on huge amounts of computing power as
they battle against others to solve complex mathematical
equations to earn new coins. The higher the hashrate, the more
power is needed to produce bitcoin.
And mining has become more difficult. The network's hashrate
has risen 80% since June, in part because of strong
profitability of miners and more powerful machines, said
London-based CoinShares, which manages around $600 million in
digital assets.
Click here https://tmsnrt.rs/2sBLQwV for an interactive
graphic.
China has cracked down on crypto exchanges and fundraising
in recent years, even as it develops its own digital currency.
After looking at banning crypto mining, Beijing last month
indicated it would not do so. Some analysts interpreted the move
as indicating tolerance of the sector.
The most significant crypto mining hubs are in China's
Yunnan and Sichuan provinces, CoinShares said, with the latter
accounting for over half the global hashrate. Other centres are
spread from the United States to Russia and Kazakhstan.
China's share of hashrate may fall as more Chinese-made next
generation gear makes it way into other markets, CoinShares
said.
(Reporting by Tom Wilson; Editing by Catherine Evans)