US, China, Russia control 68% of Bitcoin hashpower

Headline: 68% of Bitcoin hashpower sits in US, China, Russia; tariff talk and Iran risk trigger $406.52M liquidations

Bitcoin’s mining power is clustered, not evenly global. Macro headlines and whales added pressure to price.

Analyst Lucky flagged that a large share of the network’s hashpower sits in a few regions. He points to roughly 68% in the United States, China, and Russia, based on recent mining activity data shared on X.

The drivers are offline, not on-chain. Infrastructure, energy costs, and policy shape where miners land. The ecosystem reflects real-world power and regulation, not just protocol rules source.

- United States: institutional-scale miners, access to capital markets, and state-level clarity like Texas bolster capacity source.
- China: despite bans, underground or relocated rigs still add hashpower, helped by cheap hydro and coal source.
- Russia: abundant low-cost electricity and cold climates cut operating costs source.

This frames where influence may sit on the network. Bitcoin remains permissionless, but mining responds to energy and policy realities source.

Tariff headlines returned. US President Donald Trump floated a 25% levy on goods using imported steel and aluminum, reviving a known risk-off trigger for crypto, per prior episodes noted by traders source source.

At the same time, war-related uncertainty stayed elevated. As Iran-linked headlines hit, whales sold into strength. They held price below $70,000 during the US session, then pushed lower source source.

Liquidations spiked. 185,806 traders were wiped out, with about $406.52 million in losses. High-leverage longs, including 100x positions, were hit hardest source.

Short leverage is now building above $69,000, per on‑chain heatmaps tracking clustered positions source.