I haven't kept up with Bitcoin tech for awhile. Hopefully the following questions are relevant here:
1. What percentage of Bitcoin's PoW belongs to Bitmain?
2. Are the drivers for Bitmain's hardware free-as-in-freedom?
3. Is mining hardware in the same class as Bitmain's manufactured anywhere in the world other than China?
Edit: Bonus question: If all cutting edge hardware tends to be developed and manufactured in one particular spot in one particular nation state, and if Bitcoin mining efficiency now depends mainly upon the manufacture of newer, more powerful hardware, does that change any of the implicit assumptions made in the Bitcoin whitepaper? (Esp. considering that same nation state has put a hard speed limit on all data moving in/out its borders.)
1. What percentage of Bitcoin's PoW belongs to Bitmain?
2. Are the drivers for Bitmain's hardware free-as-in-freedom?
3. Is mining hardware in the same class as Bitmain's manufactured anywhere in the world other than China?
Edit: Bonus question: If all cutting edge hardware tends to be developed and manufactured in one particular spot in one particular nation state, and if Bitcoin mining efficiency now depends mainly upon the manufacture of newer, more powerful hardware, does that change any of the implicit assumptions made in the Bitcoin whitepaper? (Esp. considering that same nation state has put a hard speed limit on all data moving in/out its borders.)