BTC China has announced that its new mining pool, which launched just five weeks ago and is exclusively Chinese, has already generated over $1.2m in bitcoin.
The company said that as of 28th November, the pool had mined 3,325 BTC, or $1,226,758.75 according to the CoinDesk USD Bitcoin Price Index at the time of writing.
Blockchain's Hashrate Distribution Chart ranks the BTC China pool 7th-largest overall, contributing around 13.9 PH/s, or 5% of the world's bitcoin hashing power.
An estimation of hashrate distribution amongst the largest mining pools. Source: BlockchainThe firm says it "promises 100% transparency in its hashrate distribution, with no hidden hashrate reductions". There are also plans to add litecoin mining operations soon.
Zero-fee mining
A spokesperson said the rapid growth could be attributed to BTC China's 0% fees on its pay-per-share (PPS) mining model.
Forming the pool was part of the company's plan to allow users to stay within BTC China's ecosystem for all aspects of their digital currency experience, from mining through to trading, transacting, shopping and storage.
The firm said:
"BTC China wanted to provide our users with a one-stop digital currency service, to allow our users to engage in all aspects of the digital currency spectrum, in one integrated platform."
All members of BTC China's mining pool are located in China itself, probably largely because the site is currently available in Chinese only. The company does have plans to launch an English version in the near future.
Broader range of services
The mining pool is part of BTC China's transition from a simple bitcoin exchange to a multi-service cryptocurrency company. In the past few months it has created and launched a margin trading service, the Mobile Exchange mobile web app and a payment gateway called JustPay.
JustPay acquired over 300 new users in its beta-testing phase and the company has already signed up five Chinese businesses to accept bitcoin using the service.
Those businesses are Shenzhoufu Hong Kong, a leading online gaming transaction platform in China with 700 game operators; Aicaike, a financial management platform; DandanChina, an e-commerce site specializing in imported products; Jingubang (JGB), a cross-border e-commerce site focusing on shopping and shipping for Chinese customers; and BTCKan, a provider of bitcoin quotes, news and mining.
Bitcoin image via Shutterstock