China’s cryptocurrency mining crackdown extends to Sichuan- PingWest

China’s cryptocurrency mining crackdown extends to Sichuan- PingWest

China’s cryptocurrency mining crackdown extends to Sichuan

June 20, 2021 9:25 pm

China's crackdown on cryptocurrency mining has expanded to the southwest province of Sichuan, where the authorities has issued an order to halt all cryptocurrency mining operations.

Detail:

The provincial branch of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) and the Sichuan Energy Bureau jointly issued on Friday an order to clean up and shut down mining operations in the province.

Sichuang is the latest Chinese provinces to crack down on cryptocurrency mining. A number of provinces including Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia, Qinghai and Yunan have already announced to ban mining activities in the regions.

 Municipal governments, city governments and energy providers, including the State Grid Corporation of China will immediately begin investigating on company which is suspicious of crypto mining, those miners are required to immediately suspend any crypto mining projects if their mining operating are confirmed by the authorities.

China account for 65% of all bitcoin mining globally. Sichuan is China's second-biggest bitcoin mining province, according to data compiled by the University of Cambridge.

Context: Bitcoin mining consume large amounts of electricity due to requirement of high computing power. 

Bitcoin mining consumes an estimated 128.84 terrawatt-hour per year of energy — more than entire countries such as Ukraine and Argentina, according to the Cambridge Bitcoin Electricity Consumption Index, a project issued by University of Cambridge.

China has placed tight scrutiny on trading cryptocurrencies despite the central government supported the development of bitcoin’s underlying blockchain technology.

In 2017, China banned initial coin offerings, a measure to issue digital tokens and raise money, due to concerns it could lead to potential systematic financial risks.

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