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(Bloomberg) — A Chinese city with abundant hydropower is said to have begun a sweeping clampdown on crypto mining firms this week, following an earlier ban from the central government on such activities.
At least one Bitcoin miner was told by an official with the Ya’an city government that the city promised the provincial authorities it would root out all Bitcoin and Ether mining operations within one year, said a person with knowledge of the situation.
Authorities of Ya’an, a city in southwestern Sichuan province, pledged at a Thursday meeting to screen and rectify all Bitcoin mining firms within its jurisdiction, blockchain news platform PANews reported. Some miners were notified by their power suppliers that all power plants in their area will be closed until further notice for self-inspections due to the government meeting, according to the report.
A person who answered a Ya’an government media-inquiry line said he is not aware of the matter.
The development added to a long list of actions taken in China recently to rein in the cryptocurrency industry. Inner Mongolia vowed earlier this year to shut all crypto mining projects by April, and the State Council called for a crackdown on Bitcoin mining and trading last month. Yunnan province started a probe last week into illegal electricity use by Bitcoin mining companies, Cailian reported.
About 65% of the world’s Bitcoin mining took place in China as of April 2020, according to an estimate by the University of Cambridge. Sichuan province, with its rich hydro resources, has always been one of the prime destinations for domestic Bitcoin miners who consider power supply and cost key. Ya’an accounted for about 10% of all computing power deployed in Sichuan for Bitcoin mining, according to the PANews report.
©2021 Bloomberg L.P.
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