China holds an alarming amount of power over Bitcoin miners in the United States. Congress should act to scale back the country's influence.However, the rise of Bitcoin also brings with it the need for increased regulatory guardrails, similar to other emerging areas of tech, such as AI.
Requiring substantial computational power and energy, Bitcoin mining is executed through sophisticated mining rigs — high-performance computing systems, powered by advanced semiconductors called ASICs. China dominates the supply of ASICs for Bitcoin mining, supplying 98% of today’s chips, mainly from a few large manufacturers including a company called Bitmain. These chips designed in China are manufactured by TSMC, using their latest and most advanced manufacturing process .
As the number of mining facilities in the U.S. continue to rapidly increase , their proximity to critical U.S. infrastructure has activated alarm bells among national security experts. A primary fear is that these facilities could function as Trojan horses, allowing Chinese intelligence agencies to conduct cyber-espionage, potentially targeting sensitive military installations, power grids or communication networks.
We also must consider the degree to which Bitcoin and related blockchains are becoming increasingly critical to the U.S. financial system and economy. It is estimated that 40% of U.S. adults own crypto in some form and the Bitcoin mining industry is projected to grow at a 9% CAGR through 2029. The negative impacts of a major disruption in trading, mining activity or price destabilization will only continue to grow.
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Source: Cointelegraph - 🏆 562. / 51 Read more »