China’s State Planner Willing to Ban Bitcoin Mining

By Kapil Gauhar

Yes, that’s true! State planner of China wants to eliminate bitcoin mining.

As indicated by a draft list of industrial activities, the agency is seeking to stop in a sign of increasing government pressure on the crypto sector.

The NDRC (National Development and Reform Commission), on Monday, said –

“We are seeking public opinions on a revised list of industries we want to encourage, restrict or eliminate. The list was first published in 2011.”

The draft for a revised list added digital currency mining operations, including that of Bitcoin, to over 450 activities which the NDRC said need to be phased out as they didn’t adhere to relevant laws and regulations, were not safe, polluted the environment or wasted resources.

Also, it did not stipulate a target date or plan for how to ban bitcoin mining, which means that such activities need to be phased out at once, the document said. The general population is yet to comment on the draft until May 7.

The state-owned newspaper Securities Times, on Tuesday, said –

“The draft list ‘distinctly reflects the attitude of the nation’s industrial policy’ toward the cryptocurrency industry.”

The cryptocurrency world has dependably been under the scrutiny in China since 2017 when cryptocurrency regulators began to ban ICOs (Initial Coin Offerings) and shut down the local crypto trading exchanges.

Also, China started limiting its cryptocurrency mining operations, compelling various firms with some of the world’s largest firms to find bases somewhere else.

Chinese firms are even among the major manufacturers of Bitcoin Mining gears. Last year, it was reported that a minimum of three was looking to raise billions of dollars with IPOs in Hong Kong.