China's Qinghai Province Has Ordered All Crypto Miners to Shut Down
China's Qinghai province has announced a ban on virtual currency mining operations, a government document said Wednesday.
Qinghai is the latest coal-based crypto mining hub that is set to completely eliminate the industry. The news came on the heels of another crackdown notice against some crypto miners in Xinjiang and follows Inner Mongolia, which had previously imposed restrictions on miners.
The document was issued by Qinghai Industry and Information Technology Department, which is part of the provincial government.
The local government cited the central government’s concerns about high energy-consuming industries and environmental pollution as well as the State Council’s directive to maintain financial stability by cracking down on crypto mining and trading as the two reasons why they will eliminate all mining activities in the province.
China's bitcoin miners use a mix of coal and hydroelectric power to power their miners, depending on the season. The use of coal in particular has drawn attention from the government, which is seeking to reduce its carbon footprint.
The State Council of China, one of the highest government bodies in the country, told local governments to crack down on crypto mining and trading in May.
China’s government has been trending in this direction for a while. Inner Mongolia implemented regulations on energy-consuming firms in April, while Sichuan – another mining hub – indicated it may end a local energy policy of which miners had taken advantage.
Earlier this year, when a number of coal plants shut down due to accidents in local mines, bitcoin’s hashrate (a measure of how much computing power is securing the network) fell over 16%.
Bitcoin's price, which rose close to $4,000 over the past 24 hours as El Salvador recognized the cryptocurrency as legal tender, dipped slightly on the news.
The translated document can be read in full below:
UPDATE (June 9, 2021, 15:15 UTC): Updated with additional information.
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