Chinese Mining Crackdowns Expand to Hebei Province

The Chinese Government is continuing to work towards a greener future by barring crypto mining in the nation. 

According to a report by Reuters on Tuesday, the Chinese cyberspace commission in the Hebei province has agreed to work with other officials to break any cryptocurrency mines still operating in the region. This is the latest move by China in its cryptocurrency mining crackdown aimed at helping the country achieve carbon neutrality. A statement from the commission said that the department of education, department of public security, local financial regulatory bureau, and the communications administration will all be involved in the crackdown. Departments will have until the end of September to verify that their information systems are not supporting any type of cryptocurrency mining and/or trading. 

In an official statement, the commission says that “Cryptocurrency mining consumes an enormous amount of energy, which is against China’s ‘carbon-neutral’ goal.” 

The government has vowed to step up the collection of pertinent information from various whistleblowers and also tips from the general public. Starting in October, officials will regularly monitor the sector and levy harsh penalties on those who choose to ignore the ban. 

Fallout from the ban

The Chinese cryptocurrency mining ban has resulted in a significant migration of mining from the East to the West. Eventually, the migration could get to a point where North America becomes the world’s mining capital. 

Despite the sweeping bans, some in China have decided to tempt fate and continue operating cryptocurrency mining farms. Yunnan province is one area that has seen continued illegal operations. The province previously issued a strict block on using hydropower stations for cryptocurrency mining. Stations were banned from working with such operations while the farms must remove all mining machines from the area. 

The People’s Government Office of Yingjiang County also said that all townships and farms need to be supervised and report on the dismantling process to the County Development and Reform Bureau.

Due to the mass culling of crypto miners in China, operations have been forced to seek alternative locations to continue their work. Both the United States and Kazakhstan have become popular destinations for these displaced miners. Both countries offer cheap electricity and have favorable laws regarding cryptocurrency mining for now.