The shutdown of mining operations in the Xinjiang region has caused a 5.6% drop in global hashrate as the Chinese government intensifies its scrutiny.
Bitcoin miners in the autonomous region of Xinjiang, China, have powered down a significant portion of their computing capacity. The move triggered a decline in hashrate starting on December 13.
Estimates point to around 400,000 mining machines taken offline, resulting in a total loss of roughly 100 EH/s and causing a 5.6% decrease in Bitcoin’s overall network hashrate.
Jack Kong, former chairman of Canaan Mining, confirmed the figures, estimating that facilities with a combined capacity of about 250 TH/s were disconnected from the network.
According to Kevin Zhang, former vice president of the Foundry mining pool, the losses could be even greater. Basing his assessment on Antminer S19 devices, Zhang estimated that as many as 500,000 machines were removed from facilities collectively consuming around 2 GW of electricity.
CCP investigations
China has maintained a significant presence in the mining sector despite the official ban imposed by the government in 2021. As of November 2025, the Asian country remained the world’s third-largest source of hashrate, accounting for more than 14% of Bitcoin’s global computational power.
However, renewed scrutiny by authorities is now forcing miners to liquidate even relatively new hydroelectric facilities. The intensified crackdown follows an investigation by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) into operators who had promoted their activities on social media platforms, including TikTok and Rednote. This public visibility reportedly drew unwanted attention from government authorities.
According to sources cited by Blockspace, some of the most recent units rely on S19 XP mining devices, among the most powerful machines currently available on the market.
