Thailand is taking advantage of falling Bitcoin miner prices caused by China's crackdown to boost crypto mining operations on its territory.
Thailand, located in the east of Southeast Asia, very close to China, is taking the lead over other countries to strengthen gold mining. Bitcoin (BTC) and other cryptocurrencies, . According to Al Jazeera, small Thai miners are taking advantage of the price drop caused by the Chinese government's crackdown on crypto mining equipment to acquire new equipment and strengthen operations within their territory. When Chinese authorities began taking action to ban all types of cryptocurrency-related activity in the country, the price of Bitcoin miners began to fall by up to 30% in the region, the outlet reported.
Pongsakorn Tongtaveenan, a Thai businessman and trader, told Al Jazeera that retail Bitcoin mining has picked up steam in Thailand in recent months, with hundreds of miners acquiring Chinese mining equipment to set up small farms and mining centres for the world's leading cryptocurrency on an artisanal basis.
Bitcoin mining, which involves extracting bitcoins from the network by solving complex mathematical problems, is a highly lucrative activity for Thais, whose minimum monthly wage is currently around $570. Bitcoin mining equipment costs an average of $13.000 and each produces between $30 and $40 a day, Tongtaveenan said.
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100.000 new Bitcoin miners in Thailand
According to Al Jazeera, Thailand has nearly 100.000 new Bitcoin miners, which have been set up within its territory since restrictions began in China in mid-2021. Although large crypto mining companies relocated to countries such as the United States, Kazakhstan and Russia, smaller mining companies began to dispose of their facilities and equipment to recoup their investments, giving Thais the opportunity to grow within this lucrative industry.
For last July, according to data According to the Cambridge University Bitcoin Electricity Consumption Index, Thailand accounted for about 1% of the total electricity hash rate Bitcoin; about 0,84 exashes per second (EH/s) of power on the network at that time. Much of Thailand’s electricity comes from Laos, its neighbor, which could also emerge as a major BTC mining center, despite being one of the poorest countries in the region. Laos has mega dams that produce large amounts of electricity that can be used to profitably mine cryptocurrencies on the network, generating millions of dollars a month.
Source: CBECI
Jasmine Telecom Systems
Thailand-based information and communications technology (ICT) company Jasmine Telecom Systems also began investing in Bitcoin mining equipment in the middle of last year, taking advantage of the growing demand and interest in the activity. The company's president, Dusit Srisangaoran, said The Bangkok Post reported that Jasmine Telecom has the experience and personnel to lead cryptocurrency mining in the country, which is why it has partnered with the firm Jastel Network to install one of the largest data centers in Thailand that will be operational in 2024.
Jasmine Telecom has around 500 Bitcoin mining rigs currently in operation and aims to install a total of 5.000 BTC miners this 2022.
Bitcoin, gold of the digital world
High demand for Bitcoin mining equipment in Thailand coincides with increased cryptocurrency usage and adoption in the country. According to Chainalysis' 2021 Global Crypto Adoption Index, Thailand ranks third among countries with the highest levels of cryptocurrency adoption. DeFi and cryptocurrencies in its population. Bitcoin, the world’s leading cryptocurrency, has gained widespread popularity among Thais as the gold of the virtual world and as a new investment asset class.
As of today, BTC is trading on the market with a value of $ 47.200 dollars, recovering 57% from its low of $30.000 seen in July when China began enforcing its new bans on the crypto industry. The network's hash rate has also recovered significantly, currently exceeding 172 EH/s, according to data from Blockchain.com.
Continue reading: Bitcoin miners return and hash rate rises to levels from 2 months ago
