Bitcoin’s energy consumption has been a critical issue among experts, governments, and industry players. Reuters reported that Beijing officials are investigating crypto mining establishments to determine how much energy they consume.
On April 27, the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Economy and Information has ordered the city’s data centers to report the amount of power consumed by mining activities. The move is part of the region’s initiative to improve its energy utility.
Many countries are also studying the energy impact of crypto mining. A Kyrgyzstan official had recently blamed the country’s energy crisis on crypto mining. Bitcoin mining remains the most hotly debated topic in the industry.
Bitcoin Hashrate Bounces Higher
Beijing’s investigation comes amid the ongoing recovery of Xinjiang miners after the mining farm was hit by a power outage some weeks ago. This reportedly caused the Bitcoin hash rate to nosedive by about 20%, sliding to as low as 106 exahashes per second.
As a result of the Hashrate decline, the Bitcoin network experienced some transaction backlog, which caused a temporary surge in fees. However, the hash rate has bounced back ever since, rising to nearly 166 exahashes per second yesterday.
Bitcoin price has also recovered following the April 25 correction. As of this writing, Bitcoin was exchanging hands at $53,677. In the last 24 hours, the flagship cryptocurrency dropped from an intraday high of $56,227.