China's largest hub for mining power experiences power outage, causing Bitcoin's network hash rate to plummet by over 20%.

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Bitcoin Hashrate Plummets

According to data from Coinwarz, Bitcoin's network has seen a significant drop in hashrate starting this morning, plummeting from 218 EH/s to 165 EH/s, a 24% decrease.

Chinese self-media "Wu Talk Blockchain" pointed out that major Bitcoin mining pools have experienced a significant decline in hashrate. The reason may be due to a work safety issue in Xinjiang, China, where the region is currently experiencing a complete power outage to comply with safety inspections by relevant authorities.

The hashrate of Bitcoin mining pools plummeted in 24 hours. Antpools fell by 24.5%, https://t.co/1YRYr58dLy fell by 18.9%, Poolin fell by 33%, Binance pools fell by 20%. The reason is that Northwest China is undergoing a complete blackout for safety inspections. pic.twitter.com/vaWgYsMEFH

— Wu Blockchain (@WuBlockchain) April 16, 2021

On the other hand, Dovey Wan, a partner at blockchain investment firm Primitive Ventures, confirmed this information, stating that coal mines in Xinjiang have caused power outages due to a large work safety incident. Apart from mining pools, local data centers have also been forced to shut down, and it may take about a week to resume operations.

Xinjiang is facing a major power outage due to a coal mine explosion

Bitcoin hashrate drops almost 30% instantly lol

— Dovey "Rug The Fiat" Wan🪐 (@DoveyWan) April 16, 2021

China's Largest Concentration of Hashrate

According to the Bitcoin hashrate map by the University of Cambridge, Xinjiang accounts for over 30% of China's Bitcoin hashrate. Additionally, China is a major hub for Bitcoin hashrate globally, hence the power outage in Xinjiang has had such a significant impact on Bitcoin's overall network hashrate.