China’s Bitcoin Enigma: Why Beijing Is Hiding Its Energy Data

• China has heavily censored information regarding renewable energy generation.
• VanEck executive Matthew Sigel believes that the country is involved in BTC mining.
• CryptoQuant’s CEO revealed that Chinese pools still have a 54% market share.

Beijing’s escalating censorship of economic information, including pressure on foreign media to withhold data, has raised alarms among analysts. The move coincides with China’s concealment of renewable energy figures, prompting speculation that the nation may be secretly engaging in large-scale Bitcoin mining operations.

Further fanning the flames of speculation, CryptoQuant CEO Ki Young Ju pointed out on X (formerly Twitter) that despite China’s official crackdown, Chinese mining pools still maintain a dominant 54% share of the Bitcoin mining market.

Matthew Sigel, head of digital assets at VanEck, also suggested that China’s concealment of renewable energy figures could indicate illicit Bitcoin (BTC) mining activities.

Sigel cited a Bloomberg report detailing China’s efforts to obscure renewable power generation data. He further confirmed that the chief executive of Bitcoin Magazine was coerced into removing a post concerning Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) within mainland China.

Data reveals a growing lack of transparency regarding China’s economic performance, with authorities discontinuing numerous statistical series. Since Xi Jinping assumed leadership of the Chinese Communist Party, the country’s GDP growth has shown a downward trend.The aftermath of China’s 2021 Bitcoin mining ban saw a diaspora of miners to neighboring Southeast Asian countries like Malaysia, Indonesia, Laos, and Thailand.  Bloomberg reports that these miners have adapted to their new environments, setting up operations in unconventional locations such as abandoned shopping malls and defunct steel factories. This shift underscores the resilience and adaptability of the Bitcoin mining industry, even in the face of regulatory crackdowns.