BTC mining: China gives Yunnan Province miners ultimatum
2 min readTL;DR Breakdown
- Miners in YunnanProvince get ultimatum to stop mining
- Other reasons China clamp down on BTC
The BTC mining ban wind has slowly crept to Yunnan Province as authorities gave miners June deadline while campaigning against the misuse of electricity by miners in the province.
Local reports in China reports that the Energy Administration of Yunnan on Friday issued a notice ordering a probe into misappropriation and unauthorized use of electricity by BTC miners.
As they asked miners to stop BTC mining, they threatened punishment on those who do not oblige by their warning.
The notice gave an ultimatum set at end of June and was also circulated across social media in the country. Yunnan is China’s fourth largest BTC mining hub as the regulation to stop activities hits the region after many other places like Qinghai, Xinjiang.
District that are revolting to the BTC mining ban like Sichuan is probing the industry. Inner Mongolia, however, has unveiled measures to root out cryptomining.
Beyond environment, why China seeks an end to BTC mining
In addition to concerns about the huge amounts of energy needed for the computing power to create cryptocurrencies, the central government of China is also concerned about speculation after a surge in the price of BTC.
The Asian country accounts for more than half of global BTC production. Miners in the country are, however, considering moving elsewhere after the government vowed to clamp down on BTC mining and trading last month.
Many miners increasing in nuber in China are considering folding the business in China, and moving offshore, said Lei Tong, managing director for financial services at Babel Finance, a Hong Kong-based crypto lender and asset manager confirmed the sentiment.
Unconfirmed reports have it that the country is also stern on all BTC activity (Mining, trading, custody, etc) to pave the way and make it easier for the country’s Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) easily become accepted by residents in the country.