Beijing (AFP)
The Chinese government is waging an active campaign to curb the cryptocurrency mining industry, the practice aimed at producing new assets using the computing power of computers, effectively banning it in Sichuan, a region. key to the southwest of the country.
China is the world's leading producer of cryptocurrency assets, with nearly 80% of global trade, despite a ban on internal trade since 2017, but in recent months several provinces have ordered the closure of companies in the sector located in their territory.
The mining ban in Sichuan province led to the closure of 26 companies last week, information not confirmed by the authorities but widely relayed on Chinese social networks and confirmed by former cryptocurrency producers.
Sichuan is the second largest producer of cryptocurrencies after Xinjiang (northwest) but it concentrates, according to the official daily Global Times, 90% of the bitcoin mining capacity of the country, which is the world's largest producer.
As a result of this ban, the price of bitcoin was down more than 8.91% on Monday, to $ 32,440 at 10:30 a.m. GMT.
According to these sources, energy suppliers have been ordered to stop supplying electricity to these companies before Sunday, as local authorities have been urged to find and close the companies concerned, in a province so far considered to be the leading producer of cryptocurrencies in China.
Sunday evening, the supply of energy to these companies was completely stopped, according to Chinese media, information at the top of the trends on the country's social networks.
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On Monday, the Chinese Central Bank said it had recently warned banks and payment organizations of the risks posed by the provision of services in connection with virtual currencies.
According to the People's Bank, these activities “disrupt the normal economic and financial order and increase the risk of illegal cross-border transfers of assets”, asking banks to put an end to them.
This operation comes as China tries to reduce the importance assumed by cryptocurrencies in the country, both for environmental and economic reasons, due to the speculation surrounding these assets, or societal.
The central government is increasingly tough on a particularly energy-intensive industry that could prevent it from achieving its climate objectives: according to a recent study published in Nature, this industry could produce the equivalent of carbon emissions. Italy or Saudi Arabia by 2024 without action from the authorities.
In recent months, mining companies in Lower Mongolia and Qinghai, sparsely populated areas rich in coal and hydroelectric power, have had to shut down as residents are encouraged to report illegal activities in this area.
Bitcoin's price plunged last month after Chinese financial institutions were banned from offering cryptocurrency-based services to reduce speculative risks around these assets.
© 2021 AFP