SHENZHEN – The 74-floor SEG Plaza skyscraper in downtown Shenzhen has literally “shaken up” the media. It has shaken several times since May 18 and remains closed for business. The local government is still investigating the cause behind the wobble. A rumor says it is caused by the mechanical resonance of “mining” – not for minerals, but cryptocurrency.

It is true the Huaqiang North area — one of the country’s most famous electronics hubs — has become one of the world’s largest collection and distribution centers for cryptocurrency mining machines, or miners. Once there was a saying that if Huaqiang North catches a cold, the electronics market in China and even the world sneezes. The new saying is: if Huaqiang North quivers once, the cryptocurrency market will shake twice. 

It is said that about 90 percent of the world’s cryptocurrency miners are from Shenzhen, especially Huaqiangbei. A manufacturing chain is also established around the city, including chip designing, assembling and production of related components. 

Looking like a small computer mainframe, a cryptocurrency miner has a powerful processor with more than 100 professional chips, so that they can handle math calculations to “mine” cryptocurrency. Many people have built professional “mining farms”, so the demand is surging. 

The value of Bitcoin fell almost 30 percent in a mid-day low on May 19, the second day of the building’s shaking. In the following several days, it kept declining to its lowest level since late January. 

I have been to the SEG Plaza many times. It is true many vendors were selling cryptocurrency miners there, but I didn’t see any “mining farm” there. So, I don’t believe the mysterious wobble is caused by mining, though the market indeed plays a vital role in the global cryptocurrency miner market. 

On the fourth floor of the SEG Plaza, signboards of “professional mining,” “BTC mining” and “miners” can be seen everywhere, many of them both in Chinese and English. 

A seller I had interviewed before the coronavirus could easily sell 500 miners monthly from his 20-square meter store. He had many international clients, including Russians, Thais and Europeans. 

Earlier this year, he opened a new store in Dongguan, a neighboring city of Shenzhen. Looking back, he believes he is lucky that he decided to open a second location because the wobble and closedown could have affected his business a lot. The price of used miners changes every day, so they could not afford to wait longer. 

After several days of closedown, many vendors moved out their products in stock in order to deliver those to their clients on time. The machines are mostly transported to Northern and Western China or abroad, where the temperature is cooler, and space and electricity cost less. 

At peak time last year, a 15,000-yuan miner was speculated to cost more than 50,000 yuan. Even so, new machines were always snapped up once released. 

As to the current decline in cryptocurrency value, it seems that these miner sellers aren’t much concerned. The mining business is not like cryptocurrency speculation. They won’t earn or lose a fortune in the blink of an eye as the prices of virtual currencies soar or plummet. Huaqiang North sellers believe the demand for mining facilities will not cease. 

However, the industry is going through another severe “shake up” as the mainland financial authorities issued a series of warnings against bitcoin mining and trading on May 21. A Chinese cryptocurrency exchange Huobi on May 24 suspended bitcoin mining machine sales and custody services for users on the mainland following government warnings. 

The SEG Plaza could roll out potential safety risks and even reopen to businesses someday, but the wobble in cryptocurrency mining machine market and the entire cryptocurrency market may not go easily. 

Chai Hua joined China Daily as a reporter in 2013 and covers business news in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay area. Based in Shenzhen, she focuses on tech trends, innovative startups and Shenzhen-Hong Kong cooperation. She can be reached at grace@chinadailyhk.com .