For years, a Chinese company has dominated one of the most lucrative corners of the cryptocurrency universe. Rising political tensions, and the prospect of Donald Trump retaking the White House, pose an unprecedented threat to that reign.
Beijing-based Bitmain Technologies Ltd. has a 90% share of the market for computers used to mine Bitcoin. One top customer likens it to diamond producer De Beers at its height: so powerful that it can dictate global prices just by adjusting the output of its machines.