The country with the worlds biggest cryptocurrency mining farms, China, aims to completely ban their operations, according to a new report issued by its top economic planning body.
The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) on Monday released proposed amendments to the list of industries that it wants to support, restrict or eliminate. Bitcoin and other digital currencies mining are listed among a swarm of other activities in the latter section of the updated document, which includes those seen as wasting resources or polluting the environment.
The proposed amendments will be available for public discussion until May 7. The regulator did not elaborate on a specific deadline to get rid of virtual currency mining, which could result in the immediate elimination of the sector, state-affiliated newspaper Global Times reported.
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The move is seen as a new step in Beijings crackdown on crypto mining, despite the country dominance in the sphere. China is home to the largest cryptocurrency mining farms on the planet thanks to cheap electricity in some of its regions, such as coal-rich Xinjiang and Inner Mongolia as well as Yunnan and Sichuan provinces.
Thus, Chinese miners will have to move their facilities abroad. Some firms had already done so, like Beijing-based cryptocurrency mining hardware giant Bitmain, which relocated some of its facilities to the US.
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Apart from shutting down the mining farms, the ban, if implemented, could be a huge blow to Chinese producers of mining rigs and other equipment for the industry.
The news comes as the price for the worlds most popular digital currency, bitcoin, has been steadily rising since the beginning of the month, setting an upward trend for other major digital currencies. On Monday, Bitcoin broke $5,300 mark before sliding to $5,200.
The news of Chinas possible “elimination” of crypto mining had no iRead More
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