China’s Bitcoin ban affected both the cryptocurrency markets and other countries. While some are looking to follow along and ban cryptocurrencies, crypto enthusiasts in Thailand are buying redundant mining rigs, getting ready to continue the work of former Chinese miners.
Chinese Miners Sell Their Machines
Many Chinese miners decided to sell their mining equipment. This led to a price drop of 30%. At the moment, prices hover at about $13,000 for new mining equipment that solves complex puzzles and awards miners fresh bitcoins.
At the moment, there are about 100,000 Thai miners, operating mainly from their apartments, earning about $40 a day per mining rig.
Some of these miners are looking to generate a stable income during the pandemic, while others are mining because they believe in the future of cryptocurrencies.
Thailand Monitoring Laos
On the other hand, many larger Thai investors are closely watching Laos, which is open to the use of digital assets.
Even though Laos has an internet penetration rate of only 43%, it’s abundant with electricity generated by many mega-dams. More than 95% of the electricity in Laos is generated for export, and using the remaining electricity to mine digital assets could bring in millions of dollars.
In November 2021, the Laos government offered licenses for crypto mining and trading to six large Laotian companies. Still, Chinese miners are warned not to plug into Laos’ electricity sources.