Recently, a major event occurred in Xinjiang.

$BTC The overall network computing power plummeted by 8% overnight and dropped by 17% in a week. 400,000 mining machines just stopped.

What surprised me even more was that after China completely banned mining in 2021, China's computing power quietly returned to the third place in the world, accounting for 14%.

It wasn't until I saw the F2pool data that I realized: this time it wasn't an accidental power outage, but a premeditated cleanup operation.

| A 17% drop in a week, an 8% drop in a single day

On December 13, Kong Jianping posted on social media: Bitcoin mining sites in Xinjiang are gradually shutting down.

At that time, no one was sure about the scale. Until today, he spoke again: the computing power dropped by 100E yesterday, down by 8%, and based on an average of 250T, at least 400,000 machines were shut down.

Data doesn't lie.

F2pool data shows that as of December 15:

The total network hash rate is 988.49 EH/s, down from about 1200E a week ago, a decrease of 17.25%.

Even more exaggerated, on December 14-15, the daily hash rate dropped by 100E, a decrease of 8%.

What does 100E mean? Calculating with an average of 250T hash rate per mining machine, it’s equivalent to 400,000 mining machines shutting down simultaneously.

This is not a natural market fluctuation; this is an organized collective shutdown.

| Timeline: From ban to recovery, and then to clearing out

Looking back at the timeline, you'll find that this event was not sudden.

May 2021: China banned Bitcoin mining entirely, forcing many mining farms to shut down or move overseas. At that time, the total network hash rate plummeted by more than 50%, and China's share dropped from 65% to nearly 0.

October 2025: Foreign media reports that China's share of global Bitcoin mining hash rate has risen to about 14%, ranking third in the world.

Underground mining farms, semi-official operations, and small mining farms in remote areas have quietly revived.

November 28, 2025: China’s central bank leads 13 departments to deploy special actions to combat virtual currency trading speculation.

December 14-15, 2025: Large-scale shutdowns at mining farms in Xinjiang, with 400,000 mining machines halting operations.

From the policy announcement on November 28 to the large-scale shutdowns in mid-December, the timing was very precise. This is not an unexpected policy, but a planned clearing.

| Why Xinjiang?

Xinjiang has always been an important base for Bitcoin mining, for a simple reason: cheap electricity.

After the ban in 2021, there were superficial shutdowns, but some local governments turned a blind eye, and mining farms quietly revived. However, this time is different, with 13 departments jointly enforcing a shutdown across the region.

| Hash rate plummeting, what impact does it have on BTC?

Many people may ask: With a 17% drop in hash rate, will BTC crash?

The answer is: short-term impact is limited, and in the long run, it may actually be a good thing.

The Bitcoin network has an automatic adjustment mechanism. A decrease in hash rate will trigger a reduction in difficulty, ensuring that the block generation speed remains stable at around 10 minutes. The direct impact of mining machine shutdowns on BTC price is minimal.

In the long term, geographical decentralization of hash rate is actually a good thing. After China’s ban in 2021, hash rate shifted from China to the United States, Kazakhstan, and other places. This shutdown in Xinjiang will further accelerate this process.

The risks of concentrated hash rate are too high; a change in policy can lead to a drastic drop in the total network hash rate. Decentralization means greater safety and better resistance to censorship.

| What should retail investors care about?

For ordinary investors, the lesson from this event is: do not blindly trust hash rate data. A plummet in hash rate sounds frightening, but its impact on BTC price is far less significant than market sentiment, liquidity, and macro policies.

Pay attention to the direction of policies. The document from 13 departments on November 28 is the real signal; the shutdown of mining machines is merely the result of enforcement.

It is unlikely that China's hash rate will return in the short term. The joint enforcement by 13 departments is more intense than in 2021. But in the long run, as long as there is profit to be made, someone will always find a way. Policy is more important than hash rate, and liquidity is more important than anything.

With 400,000 mining machines shut down and a 17% drop in hash rate, it sounds dire, but the BTC network is still operating normally, and prices will rise or fall as they should.

What truly affects BTC prices is never whether mining machines are operational, but whether global funds are willing to enter the market.

Do you think China’s hash rate will return?