More provinces in China are putting new limits on the cryptocurrency mining sector, as the country works toward its carbon neutrality goals and concerns over cryptocurrency trading loom.
Fast facts
- Authorities in North China’s Hebei province today issued a notice to crack down on cryptocurrency mining and trading activities, saying that crypto mining consumes huge amount of energy and the wide use of cryptocurrencies could “severely impact the development of the economy and the society and directly threatening national security.”
- By the end of September, relevant institutions in Hebei need to check if there are crypto mining operations using the computing power within their information systems. The authorities will start deploying regular inspections starting from October on crypto mining activities.
- Meanwhile, authorities in Lanzhou, the capital city of Northwest China’s Gansu province, last week worked with the local branch of State Grid to inspect crypto mining activities, according to a report from Yinda Media Group, a publication operated by a unit of State Grid.
- Hebei and Gansu are just the latest regions to phase out crypto mining, following similar clampdowns in Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia, Qinghai, Yunnan and Sichuan.
- As China continues cracking down on crypto mining, many miners have fled China for other places that appear to be more regulation-friendly and offer inexpensive power. Some of the top destinations for displaced Chinese miners have included North America, Kazakhstan and Northern Europe.
- Texas has also emerged as a new promised land. Poolin, a major mining pool with significant operations in China, has been actively moving its mining operation from China to the United States, with efforts to relocate some of its executives to Austin, Texas — a state that is emerging to be a friendly destination for crypto mining.