Kevin Zhang, vice president of business development at Foundry, breaks down the latest developments surrounding China and bitcoin mining. Show highlights:

how he came across crypto and which Bitcoin OG he joined at Bitcoin.com to help start its mining operations arm
what Foundry does and its relationship with Digital Currency Group (DCG)
why DCG wanted to build out a mining infrastructure business
what news from China in early March kickstarted the process of the mining ban
how China’s Central Television broadcasting company might have brought extra scrutiny to cryptocurrencies
what the 100th anniversary of the Chinese Communist Party has to do with its Bitcoin mining ban
why the Inner Mongolia and Sichuan Bitcoin mining bans were especially disruptive for Chinese miners
how much of China’s hash rate Kevin estimates has been shut down since May
where are miners relocating to
why Chinese mining equipment will not be allowed to turn on in the US
whether or not China’s Bitcoin mining ban will stick
why China banning bitcoin mining will be good for the network in the long run
what significant risk to Bitcoin’s network is solved by China banning bitcoin mining
how much Bitcoin’s hash rate will drop and what effect this will have on miner revenue
why Kevin thinks that Bitcoin is good for renewable energy
how immersion cooling technology works
what tangible benefits miners could find by moving to North America
if El Salvador’s volcanic bitcoin mining plan is feasible
what Kevin predicts will happen in the Bitcoin mining industry for the latter half of 2021

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Episode Links

Kevin Zhang

Foundry, Subsidiary of DCG

Twitter: https://twitter.com/foundryservices
Website: https://foundrydigital.com/
Foundry USA Pool
- Bit Digital: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/bit-digital-joins-foundry-usa-pool-with-5-679-machines-adding-up-to-280-phs-of-compute-power-to-the-pool-301283792.html
- Bitfarms partnership: https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2021/04/23/2215897/0/en/Bitfarms-Partners-with-Foundry-to-Expand-Bitcoin-Mining-Fleet-and-Join-Foundry-USA-Pool-Instantly-Boosts-Operating-Hashrate-By-15.html

China’s Bitcoin Mining Ban

Travis Kling noted 25 different announcements from China in June alone:
- https://twitter.com/Travis_Kling/status/1410630499748388865
Glassnode: mining difficulty to face its largest decrease ever
- https://insights.glassnode.com/the-week-on-chain-week-26-2021/
The Block: hash rate dropped 50%, Foundry up while everyone else is hurting
- https://www.theblockcrypto.com/post/109315/bitcoin-hashrate-declines-50-percent-china-mining-crackdown
Nic Carter: breaking down the hashrate migration
- https://www.coindesk.com/bitcoin-unpacking-hashrate-nic-cart-migration

Secondhand mining equipment prices are spiking
- https://www.coindesk.com/chinese-logistics-firm-airlifting-bitcoin-mining-machines-to-maryland-report

https://www.theblockcrypto.com/post/109301/secondhand-bitcoin-miner-supply-spiking-bitmain

Bitcoin miners shut down, 26 farms affected after Sichuan bans BTC mining
- https://www.coindesk.com/sichuan-becomes-latest-chinese-province-to-order-bitcoin-miner-shutdown
- https://decrypt.co/74075/bitcoin-hashrate-falls-17-overnight-after-china-mining-crackdown
China’s Inner Mongolia announced eight measures in its crypto ban
- https://www.theblockcrypto.com/post/105973/china-inner-mongolia-crypto-bitcoin-mining-ban-measures
Hash rate hits yearly low
- https://www.coindesk.com/bitcoin-mining-hashrate-drops-low
Miners are moving to Kazakhstan
- https://www.coindesk.com/chinese-bitcoin-mining-company-delivers-first-machines-to-kazakhstan
Tweet thread on how bitcoin miners reacted to the PRC’s May crackdown
- https://twitter.com/MustafaYilham/status/1396574185598590979

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