The Mining Pod | Blockspace Media China Mining Ban 2.0? Inside CCP Sweep of Xinjiang's Bitcoin Mines / w Nick Hansen
Dec 15, 2025
Nick Hansen, CEO of Luxor Technology, sheds light on the latest Bitcoin mining crackdown in Xinjiang. He reveals that nearly 100 EH/s of hashrate went offline, significantly impacting the global mining landscape. Hansen discusses the implications for non-Chinese miners and the future of ASIC manufacturing as older machines struggle to find new homes. The conversation also touches on how social media visibility may have triggered increased scrutiny, raising questions about whether this is a temporary setback or a renewed ban from the CCP.
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Local Tolerance Then Central Crackdown
- Xinjiang miners had been reactivating after the 2021 ban by operating under local tolerance away from Beijing's scrutiny.
- Renewed central scrutiny appears to be prompting a voluntary preemptive shutdown across that region.
TikTok Posts Triggered Scrutiny
- Some operators publicly posted tours of their Xinjiang mines on TikTok and Red Note, drawing attention from authorities.
- Those posts reportedly triggered inspections and accelerated voluntary shutdowns by other miners.
Pool APIs Understate Actual Hashrate
- Pool API-reported hashrate fell more than the network-implied hashrate, an unusual divergence suggesting unreported miners or variance in block luck.
- This gap complicates immediate conclusions about where and how much hash actually went offline.
