Recent data from Foundry, as reported by CNBC, indicates that Texas now holds over 28% of the total Bitcoin mining hashrate in the US.
Texas is now the US state with the most Bitcoin mining activity. It would have surpassed 28% of the total hashrate held by the US, per latest data from Foundry that CNBC released.
Texas leads the US in bitcoin mining
Since China outlawed Bitcoin in 2021, the US has become the global leader in this activity.
In actuality, China used to hold the majority of the hashrate, but that percentage has subsequently reduced to 21%.
As of this now, though, it appears that the US accounts for approximately 38% of the hashrate used worldwide for Bitcoin mining.
Large mining farms were allegedly nonexistent even as of July 2021, when the nation’s hashrate had dropped to almost zero. The US increased to 35% at that point, from 17% two months before.
Since then, the US has continued to produce more hashrate, with 38% currently being located there.
China, on the other hand, has caught up; prior to the embargo, it had 44%, but it has now dropped to 21%.
Kazakhstan, China’s neighbor, is currently in second place with 13%, followed by Canada with 6.5% and Russia with 4.5%.
Texas’s track record in mining bitcoin
The US hashrate distribution is far from uniform, though.
Only 8.5% of the nation’s hashrate was found in Texas in 2021; this was exceeded by 9.5% in New York State, but particularly by 12% in Kentucky and 34% in Georgia.
But there was a true boom following the US ban on Chinese immigrants, with Texas leading the way.
Now, only 1% of the nation’s hashrate is left in Kentucky, New York State has fallen to 9%, and Georgia has fallen from 34% to 9.5%.
At 28.5%, Texas now holds a commanding lead in this rating, closely followed by Georgia and New York.
Texas’s record is most likely attributable to the abundance of power generated from waste materials, such flare gas, or otherwise made available at extremely low costs.
Based on mathematical calculations, Texas ranks third globally in terms of hashrate for Bitcoin mining, accounting for 10% of the global value, with only China and Kazakhstan above Texas.
CNBC’s evaluation
After speaking with Kevin Zhang, a ten-year Bitcoin miner, the CNBC piece was put together.
Although Zhang was born in America, he was raised in China. Consequently, he claims he made advantage of his language abilities to become one of the first and biggest outside clients of Chinese ASIC producers.
Afterwards, he established a mining farm in Montana that grew to be the biggest Bitcoin mine in North America.
Zhang claims that the halving the next year will be the final test for miners because it will literally reduce their earnings in half over night. He says that while some might not survive, others ought should.
Texas, along with Wyoming, is among the US states with the most affordable mining restrictions, in addition to its edge in terms of electricity generation. The latter, on the other hand, is a resource-poor state, holding only 0.4% of the hashrate in the US.
According to CNBC, there has been a slight exodus of American miners to Texas due to the state’s far lower mining costs for bitcoin.
Furthermore, state energy grid operator ERCOT, which has historically struggled with fluctuating energy prices, not only supports this activity but also offers incentives to miners to use their machines to dispose of excess energy generated, and continuity of service and flexible pricing.
Using mining to exploit waste
Utilizing energy resources that would otherwise be thrown away is a very good fit for bitcoin mining.
First and foremost is the gas that naturally exits oil fields; it is commonly burned and is referred to as “flare gas.”
Above all, though, it’s a great method to make money off of the extra electricity generated, since the grid needs to be able to distribute at least the minimum amount needed in order to guarantee that everyone has access to enough energy at all times.
The solution is to produce excess energy because it cannot yet be stored in significant quantities. Since this excess energy would otherwise be wasted, mining Bitcoin with it is an economical use of it.
It’s no accident that the US is home to a number of publicly traded cryptocurrency mining firms; these businesses have access to cheap energy, some of which is generated from waste during processing or distribution.
As long as the price of Bitcoin does not plummet, mining it to profit turns out to be a viable endeavor.
