Chinese Cryptocurrency Miners Rush to Liquidate their Hardware

November 2018 has been the worst month in the history of cryptocurrency markets, and quite a few Bitcoin miners in China have become desperate to the point of selling their hardware rigs at rock bottom prices. On Black Friday, traders of digital currencies watched in dismay as the exchange price of Bitcoin fell below $4,260; meanwhile, operators of mining pools in China were aghast to learn that a major mining operation in the United States filed for bankruptcy.

On Weibo, a Chinese social media platform similar to Twitter, miners advertised their rigs to be weighed in kilograms and sold as scrap; meanwhile, a major mining pool in the U.S. Pacific Northwest, filed for insolvency in the Eastern District of Washington. The Giga Watt mining pool once held considerable promise as a cryptocurrency startup, but its main data center and offices are now under eviction proceedings.

Bitcoin mining is a complicated affair that requires significant capital expenses,…