China may be on the verge of completely banning cryptocurrency mining, a move that would be a serious blow to crypto.
It’s estimated that China accounts for 70% of the world’s crypto supply, and as much as 75% of Bitcoin mining. In spite of the country’s role in crypto’s rise, the Chinese government is increasingly cracking down on operations.
Last week, China began signaling it was cracking down on cryptocurrency, saying its volatility “seriously violate people’s asset safety.” The government now appears poised to crack down, not just on trading crypto, but on mining it as well, marking an escalation of Beijing’s anti-crypto rhetoric.
According to the South China Morning Post, the State Council’s Financial Stability and Development Committee issued a statement saying the government plans to “crack down on bitcoin mining and trading behaviour, and resolutely prevent the transfer of individual risks to the society.”
The statement is a shot across the bow at the entire Chinese crypto mining industry, and could have profound repercussions.
“The wording of the statement did not leave much leeway for cryptocurrency mining,” said Li Yi, Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences chief research fellow, according to South China Morning Post.
Needless to say, Bitcoin’s price was down on the news.
Author holds a very, very (almost infinitesimally) small amount of Bitcoin that in no way influenced this article.