Chinese Bitcoin Miners Have Already Shipped Equipment To Kazakhstan, Report Shows

What Happened: Shenzhen-based Bitcoin miner BIT Mining BTCM has already shipped some of its mining equipment outside China, according to a press release from the company.

The company reported that 320 mining machines with a capacity of 18.2 PH/s had been delivered to a facility in Kazakhstan, which is expected to be fully operational by June 27.

A second and third batch, totaling 2,600 mining machines with a theoretical maximum total hash rate capacity of 102.3 PH/s, are also expected to be delivered to Kazakhstan before July 1, 202.

Why It Matters: The company’s overseas deployment strategy was put into effect after it received a notice from the State Grid Sichuan Ganzi Electric Power supplier notifying them that the power supply would be suspended on June 19.

BIT Mining’s Chinese subsidiary was one of the 26 Bitcoin miners that were forcibly shut down by local authorities on Sunday after a government crackdown on crypto mining and trading in the region further intensified.

"We are committed to protecting the environment and lowering our carbon footprint. We have been strategically expanding our operations overseas as part of our growth strategy,” commented Xianfeng Yang, CEO of BIT Mining.

“Following our investments in cryptocurrency mining data centers in Texas and Kazakhstan, we are accelerating our overseas development for alternative high-quality mining resources,” he added.

According to a report from The Washington Post, Chinese miners are now focused on expanding to other geographies, including the U.S.

“Right now in China, everybody’s scared. The question is not whether you pull out, but immediately or gradually,” said one miner under the condition of anonymity.

Price Action: Bitcoin was trading at $32,418 at the time of writing, up 1,81% from its earlier dip below $30,000.