China’s crypto crackdown expands as a northern province announces new restrictions on mining and trading in cooperation with Beijing

• China’s crackdown on cryptocurrency mining has expanded into the northern province of Hebei, Reuters reported Tuesday.
• The area’s cyberspace commission said crypto mining consumes an enormous amount of energy.
• China is targeting bitcoin mining operations as it works to reduce carbon emissions.
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China’s efforts to restrict cryptocurrency mining and trading have stretched to the northern province of Hebei, where a regulator said it will be a part of broader clampdown, Reuters reported Tuesday.

“Cryptocurrency mining consumes an enormous amount of energy, which is against China’s ‘carbon neutral’ goal,” and it carries huge financial risks, Heibei’s cyberspace commission said in a statement, according to the report.

The commission said the local financial regulatory bureau and public security departments will be among the government offices that work on cryptocurrency restrictions.

China has pledged to cut down on bitcoin mining operations in the country to reduce carbon emissions. The world’s largest economy is aiming to reach carbon neutrality before 2060 and reach peak carbon emissions before 2030.

The Sichuan, Anhui, and Gansu provinces are among those that have said they would order the shutdown of crypto mining operations. Earlier this year, China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region said it had set up a hotline for the general public to report outlying crypto-mining operations that were still active in the region.