Benzinga | Jun 21, 2021 10:04AM EDT

Chinese Bitcoin Mining Restrictions Lead To Lower GPU Prices As Leading Bitcoin Miners Suspend Operations: SCMP

* China's ongoing Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) mining crackdown led to plummeting graphic card prices, making it more affordable at the cost of fewer places for miners to set up shop, the SCMP reports.

* The crackdown follows May's cryptocurrency decline of more than 40%.

* The NVIDIA Corp's (NASDAQ:NVDA) entry-level graphics card Nvidia Quadro P1000 model price plummeted 19% from 3,000 yuan in early May to 2,429 yuan ($376) on a JD.com Inc (NASDAQ:JD) franchise store on Monday.

* The Asustek Computer Inc's (OTC:ASUUY) more advanced Asus RTX3060's price dropped 65% from 13,499 yuan in May to 4,699 yuan on Monday from its peak on Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (NYSE:BABA) operated Tmall.

* The meltdown follows Chinese hydropower reliant bitcoin mining haven Sichuan province's pulling the plug on mining firms.

* Mongolia and Sichuan's had to suspend operations that were popular for their cheaper electricity.

* Many Chinese miners have either suspended operations or reduced network activity.

* China accounted for 65% of the bitcoin network's hash rate as of April 2020. Sichuan, inner Mongolia, and Xinjiang account for a significant chunk of the bitcoin network's global hash rate.

* The rising electricity required to power blockchain has also become a concern for China, aiming to reduce its carbon footprint. The daily average hash rate for bitcoin dropped to 104 exahash operations per second in the past 24 hours, down from over 200 in April.

* Price action: NVDA shares traded lower by 2.97% at $723.35 on the last check Monday.