On May 17, the total computing power of the Bitcoin network dropped by 20%. The reason was power outages in China’s Sichuan province due to low rainfall and a shortage of coal.
As of the morning of May 17, #Bitcoin mining pool’s 24-hour computing power suddenly plunged 20%. Mainly because of shortage of power supply and carbon neutrality policy. #bitcoinmining https://t.co/bXn8dFPC0S pic.twitter.com/PclXufaGtD
— 8BTCnews (@btcinchina) May 18, 2021
On May 16, the provincial authorities temporarily limited the supply of electricity to large consumers. Cancellation of measures is possible after the normalization of supply and demand.
In their actions, officials are also guided by the desire to achieve carbon neutrality. China plans to peak CO emissions2 until 2030 and completely exclude them in the next 30 years. These guidelines are contained in the five-year development program adopted in March this year.
According to Coin Metrics, the hash rate of the first cryptocurrency dropped to 150.6 EH / s. BitInfoCharts estimates even lower – about 132.5 EH / s.
Data: Coin Metrics.
Bitcoin hashrate dropped sharply in April 2021 due to power outages as part of security checks following explosions and floods in Chinese coal mines.
Elon Musk cited this incident as an example of the dependence of the first cryptocurrency on mining companies.

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