China has signaled its intent to ban cryptocurrency mining, dealing a fresh blow to an industry buffeted by tumbling virtual currency prices, stiff competition and waning investor interest.
The National Development and Reform Commission, China’s powerful economic planner, this week listed cryptomining among a plethora of industries it intends to eliminate because they have “seriously wasted resources” or polluted the environment.
The agency is seeking public feedback on the guidelines and said that the cryptomining ban could take effect as soon as they are formally issued.
The consultation period ends on May 7.
While China was once home to about 70 percent of Bitcoin mining and 90 percent of trades, authorities have waged a nearly two-year campaign to shrink the cryptoindustry amid concerns over speculative bubbles, fraud and wasteful energy consumption.
After banning initial coin offerings and calling on local exchanges to halt virtual currency trading in 2017, Chinese officials last year outlined proposals to discourage cryptomining — the computing process that makes transactions with virtual currencies possible, but consumes vast amounts of power.
Beijing was said to have at the time asked local agencies to try and push miners out of business.
The industry, which was initially drawn to China’s inexpensive electricity, local chipmaking factories and cheap labor, has begun shifting overseas.
Market leader Bitmain Technologies Ltd (比特大陸) — which last month allowed its application for a Hong Kong initial public offering to lapse — has established mining operations in the US and Canada.
BTC.Top, the third-biggest mining pool, last year said that it was opening a facility in Canada.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電) and Nvidia Corp are among listed chipmakers that supply cryptominers in China and around the world.
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