China’s Inner Mongolia region — once a thriving cryptocurrency mining hub that has enacted a series of measures to rein in the sector — is tightening its crackdown by hiring a contractor to monitor and ferret out mining operations.
Fast facts
- The Inner Mongolia Development and Reform Commission announced on Wednesday a bidding result for the investigation. It is hiring Inner Mongolia Mengze Engineering Management for the work, setting aside a budget of 295,000 yuan (US$45,700) for the project.
- The commission opened the bid just last week, seeking help to study the region’s mining activities and identify crypto mining projects that could be still in operation.
- China has been cracking down on the sector, with the most recent bans being imposed in Hebei and Gansu provinces, followed by similar clampdowns in Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia, Qinghai, Yunnan and Sichuan.
- As such, 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.
