Authorities in the Chinese province of Hebei have stayed true to their words and have reportedly begun their war against cryptocurrency activities in the region. According to an official announcement made by the region’s cyberspace commission, a number of government agencies are working together in a collaborative effort to stop the use of Hebei’s power in crypto mining and trading – activities that the government totally frowns at and has declared ‘illegal’.
Reuters had reported just some two days ago how the cyberspace commission in China’s Hebei province vowed to work hand in hand with other government agencies to bring offenders who engage in virtual currency mining and trading, to book.
Reports from South China Morning Post (SCMP) confirm that the regional cyberspace administration has already launched the war against cryptocurrency activities, claiming that the action is bordering on various reasons ranging from environmental health to national security concerns and even financial considerations.
The newspaper reports went further, claiming that all government agencies and state-owned companies within the province have been immediately asked to check their information systems and stop using the province’s power to mint virtual coins unfailingly by September end. In addition, local universities and research institutes have been directed to immediately dial down the capacity of any information systems in such a way that it will only be able to cater to their academic needs.
The Chinese government is obviously leaving no stones unturned as Hebei Province joins a long list of other provinces in the country where mining and trading operations have been banned. Other provinces that have taken the step ahead include; Sichuan, Yunnan, Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia, Qinghai, and Anhui. A region in Northwestern China, Gansu, also launched its crackdown last week. In July, the province received a closure notice for crypto mining facilities from the State Grid Corporation of China.
Recall that China had initially banned all crypto-related activities in 2017, but Beijing authorities did not really try to implement those laws until early 2021. In May 2021, the cabinet of ministers and the state council announced that there would be a crackdown on all crypto-related activities. The announcement directly resulted from President Xi’s address/pledge to ensure that China achieves carbon neutrality in the next 40 years.
But according to Reuters, mining cryptocurrency consumes a whole lot of power/energy – as the case may be, which is absolutely against the long-term goal of China to achieve carbon neutrality.
