More provinces in China are taking serious actions to crack down on crypto mining following the all-out ban announced on Sept. 24 by the country’s top authorities.
Fast facts
- Southeast China’s Fujian provincial development and reform commission on Friday held a video conference meeting with local authorities to clarify their responsibilities and pledged to “clear out” virtual currency mining operations, according to a local regulator’s statement.
- Just last week, Wei Meng, a spokesperson for the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), the country’s top economic planner, said at a press briefing that as part of the next step of the clampdown, the authorities will focus on raiding industrial clustered mining activities and those carried out by state-owned entities. If an entity is found to have participated in mining crypto, it could be subject to punitive electricity charges for future operations, according to Meng.
- Also earlier this month, the country’s anti-corruption watchdog announced that Xiao Yi, a former vice chairman of the Jiangxi provincial committee of the people’s political consultative conference, has been removed from office and expelled from the party, as he was found to introduce and support cryptocurrency mining activities.
- China has been actively clamping down on crypto mining since earlier this year. On Sept. 24, the NDRC jointly issued a notice with 10 other authorities to wipe out crypto mining. The NDRC has also proposed to label the crypto mining industry as “outdated,” which could prohibit investments in the sector.