China is stepping up its fight against “mining” cryptocurrencies such as bitcoins. According to sources told Bloomberg news agency, intensified inspections of people involved in the production of digital coins have been carried out in several provinces.
In particular, the high energy consumption caused by mining is a source of concern for the Chinese authorities, especially now that the winter season is approaching. In addition, a large part of the computers in the world that are engaged in mining are located in China.
According to the insiders, searches were carried out at colleges, research institutes and data centres. China has been curbing crypto mining for some time, including in the Inner Mongolia region, where energy is cheap and many miners can be found.
Because of that tougher approach, miners are now trying to continue in all kinds of ways, for example, by pretending to be researchers or constantly changing locations with fewer computers so that peaks in power consumption are less noticeable.
China has said that the high energy consumption for the complex calculations used to add new bitcoins is at odds with the country’s sustainable ambitions. According to Beijing, cryptocurrencies are also a threat to financial stability and are often used for criminal activities.
The government has banned major banks and payment service providers from trading digital coins and crypto transactions. As a result, many miners are said to have fled China by now.