China’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) is eying to ban crypto mining activities within the country, according to a Reuters report.
The state planning agency has released a draft proposal on Monday with a list of 450 points, including cryptocurrency mining, identifying activities that violate relevant laws, are unsafe, waste resources, or pollute the environment.
The list, dubbed the Catalog for Guiding Industry Restructuring, was first published by NDRC in 2005 and then revised and updated in 2011, 2013, and 2016, the April 9 Reuters report points out. The list projects the country’s stance on various industries - whether they are to be fostered, restricted, or eliminated from the jurisdictions.
The agency is now seeking public opinions on the revised list so that it can take appropriate actions against the industries. The deadline for receiving the comments was set for May 7.
Securities Times, a state-owned Chinese financial daily, noted that the draft “distinctly reflects the attitude of the country’s industrial policy” towards the digital asset industry.
banning the mining of Bitcoin might negatively impact on the development of this crypto currency. actually most of the big mining farms are located in China
— narcis (@leopardul32) April 9, 2019
A Hard Stance Towards Crypto
In 2017, the Chinese government abruptly banned initial coin offerings (ICOs) and all crypto trading services within its jurisdiction. The exchanges operating within the country were then recording the highest volume of digital asset trades compared to other parts of the world.
This attack on crypto mining activities is not the first time in China as, last year, reports surfaced that the communist government is planning to force the industry for an “orderly exit”.
China houses the three largest crypto mining hardware manufacturer on the globe - Bitmain Technologies, Canaan Creative, and Ebang Communication. All three companies are pushing hard to for a public listing but failed even after multiple attempts.
Most recently, Bitmain’s filing for an initial public offering (IPO) has lapsed at the desk of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange as the exchange did not provide any hearing date for further proceedings.
Meanwhile, Bitmain, reportedly, is also planning to dive into crypto mining activities by deploying 200,000 devices from its inventory in southwestern China.
