Bitcoin sluggish and declining profit have raised a higher demand to crypto mining. On the other hand, China’s crackdown on cryptocurrencies broadens to bitcoin mining, some of the industry’s biggest players are branching out to bitcoin-favored countries like Russia, Iceland, Norway and Canada.

“We are locating our mining farm in Siberia, Russia by getting some ‘guanxi’ (pulling some strings) there.” Lu Hui, who ran a big mining farm in China, said.

“While it is not quite tranquil there in Russia, only a gun can buy me safety. You can buy a gun with 2,000 yuan ($ 316) and a plus 1,000 yuan if you are not licensed…”

“Prior to the tightening crackdown, mining business were welcomed in regions with abundant hydroelectric power like Xinjiang and Inner Mongolia in China. Mining farms could be introduced and located there in the name of cloud computing or big data. So the government authorities in charge of investment promotion had the final say. Once they accepted it as a high-tech company, abundant and stable electricity would be supplied with quite low costs.”

A win-win solution - miners got cheap electricity whilst local government had investment and tax. But this January, the country’s regulatory authority began to take actions to wipe out mining business, leaving miners in great panic. And their local official umbrella, caring more about their career than regional economic development, is limiting cheap power supply. Electricity used to be cheaply priced at 0.25 yuan to 0.28 yuan (about 4 cents in US dollar) per kilowatt hour, now has increased to 0.4 yuan even 0.6 yuan in some places - costs doubled.

New business - $ 80 Charged for Relocating a Mining Machine

In this context, shifting mining operations overseas has been a consensus among big mines. It is learnt that countries sparsely populated with mild climate or cheap electric power are specially favored. Iceland, Norway, Russia, United States, Canada, and some central Asian countries are among the top list.

When it comes to transnational move and relocation, a new business is bred. Sophisticated businessmen seize every chance to make a sudden fortune.

“professional moving services are provided for mining farms. It is charged by the number of mining machines, $ 80 dollars for a unit. You just need to tell them the number of relocated mining machines, and they’ll take care of everything.”

Visit the local gangs

As mentioned above, the normal operation of a mining farm runs on stable power supply, secured surroundings and more importantly, strong backing, it is obviously not easy to find such a place in a foreign country.

“I’ve made acquaintance with a Russian, son of a top official with the networking of my friend. We visited many places to ensure the normal operation of my mining farm there, first local power supply bureau, then local gangs and tackle all kinds of relations. It is not quite tranquil there in Russia, only a gun can buy me safety. You can buy a gun with 2,000 yuan and a plus 1,000 yuan if you are not licensed…”

According to Lu, they will set up a branch in Canada for the cheaper hydroelectric power there, 0.18 yuan (2.8 cents) per kilowatt hour only. However, he confided that no one wanna go to a completely unfamiliar place abroad, “we had no choice but to swallow the bitterness when we are bullied. That’s why we need to pay a visit to the local gangs.”