The regulation targets large mining centers, but also internet cafes. The regulation is about to face an expansion into other regions of the country.
Inner Mongolia has released eight measures to combat and punish Bitcoin’s mining activities. The North China Autonomous Region Reform and Development Commission will wait until June 1 for citizen feedback on the proposal banning cryptocurrency mining.
The measures stated that every single data center and power plant that supports cryptocurrency mining without previous advice and information will have to face a series of penalties imposed by the authorities.
The document adds that the licenses of telecommunications and information technology companies that currently mine Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies will face a revocation. In addition, some penalties might include closure for businesses such as cybercafes that support digital mining.
Entities, mining projects, and other actors that attempt to gain unauthorized access to electric power distribution centers will face criminal charges, as specified in the draft resolution.
Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region Development and Reform Commission stated that if entities such as companies, individuals, etc. carry out money laundering through virtual currency and other illicit activities, these currencies will go directly to the judicial authorities for handling following the Criminal Law of the People’s Republic of China and other important rules regarding regulations.
The document also claims that all companies and individuals in cryptocurrency mining will appear on a blacklist as untrusted entities; this resolution applies following the country’s main regulations.
The Implementation Plan is ready to Go
Public officials that use their positions to take part in the extraction of bitcoin will be transferred to inspection, and supervision entities of the State.
This implementation plan seems to be very complete. There is nothing particularly new. However, different government departments may develop different plans in the future. Columnist Wu Blockchain noted on Twitter the statement. He reflects on the fact that Bitcoin mining has already been warned as a big threat to China’s green strategies.
New Measures and Bibyt’s Farewell from China
All the interest now targets the cities of Xinjiang and Sichuan, northeast and southwest China where large Bitcoin mining farms set their operations. These regions might soon announce measures related to those published by Inner Mongolia.
While this entire situation is happening, the accumulated processing power of Bitcoin miners (the hash rate) has been declining. Although the loss of processing power can be happening due to various causes, the common factor seems to be China if the interested parties consider that a huge piece of the main Bitcoin mining pools come from the Asian nation.
On May 21, at a very polarized moment for the price of bitcoin, China stated that it would crackdown on bitcoin mining and trading activities. During the following hours, the price of the asset crumbled down. Now, it appears that the industry will begin to strike back and defend itself from government action.
By: Jenson Nuñez
