China’s crackdown on Bitcoin (BTC) mining over energy use concerns is widely believed to be the cause of the migration of miners from Asia to western countries. However, new research by the Cambridge Center for Alternative Finance suggests that the shift in mining power has already begun in the face of renewed Chinese control.

Reuters reports that China’s total bitcoin network-connected computing power, or hash rate, dropped from 75.5% in September 2019 to 46% in April 2021, before the Asian nation even officially announced the suppression of exploitation.

In the same 18-month period, the United States quadrupled its share of the global bitcoin hash rate from 4% to 16.8%, becoming the second largest bitcoin producer. Another country that often cites a potential target for miners to relocate is Kazakhstan, which has increased its market share to 8% and has grown into a major bitcoin producer.

After a major power outage at the Xinjiang mining center in April, Chinese authorities have started investigating energy use related to Bitcoin mining. Officials claim they are closely monitoring mining operations over carbon concerns, which has resulted in the relocation of some industrial miners from China.

Related: Bitcoin Mining Ban Was An Easy Decision For China, Says Bitmain Partner EMEA

Describing China’s mining ban as a temporary inconvenience, Khurram Shroff, CEO of iMining, said the diverse location of the mining facilities is great news for the rest of the world. “The Toronto Stock Exchange recently listed the world’s first Bitcoin ETF,” he said, for example, “[Canada] was ahead of the curve in terms of cryptocurrency integration. “

Some experts consider China’s crackdown on Bitcoin mining to be an easy decision. Bitmain’s EMEA partner recently told Cointelegraph that the country needs to reduce its carbon footprint in order to get funding from the International Monetary Fund or the World Bank, and Bitcoin mining is a convenient destination for reducing energy consumption.