Crypto Mining China: How It Works, Who Controls It, and Why It Matters

When you think of crypto mining China, the centralized, state-influenced network of Bitcoin mining operations that once dominated global hash power. Also known as Chinese Bitcoin mining, it used to run over 70% of the world’s Bitcoin network—until 2021, when the government shut it down overnight. This wasn’t just a policy shift. It was a power play. The state didn’t just ban mining—it took back control of the energy, the hardware, and the profits.

Today, unlicensed crypto mining, illegal mining operations that run on stolen electricity and evade government detection. Also known as shadow mining, it still thrives in remote provinces like Xinjiang and Inner Mongolia, often tied to the IRGC crypto mining, military-linked groups that use state infrastructure to mine crypto while citizens face blackouts. These aren’t hobbyists with rigs in their garages. These are industrial-scale farms powered by state-subsidized coal plants, running 24/7 with no oversight. And while ordinary people pay higher bills, these operations fund sanctions evasion and regional conflicts. Meanwhile, legitimate mining in China is nearly extinct. The few remaining legal operations are tightly controlled by state-owned utilities and require special permits—something almost no private miner can get.

What’s left of crypto mining China is a ghost of its former self. But its impact lives on. The hardware it dumped on global markets lowered prices for miners everywhere. The energy policies it forced on the world pushed Bitcoin toward renewable sources. And the crackdown showed that no country, no matter how big, can fully control a decentralized network—only delay it.

Below, you’ll find real reports on how mining shifted after the ban, who’s still active in the shadows, and how China’s moves changed the entire crypto landscape. No theory. No fluff. Just what happened, who did it, and why it still matters today.