SHANGHAI: Anhui Province in eastern China has become the latest to declare a blanket ban on cryptocurrency mining, claiming that the measure will help alleviate a severe power deficit over the next three years. According to a news portal controlled by state-owned Hefei Media Group, Anhui will shut down all cryptomining projects as part of a cleanup aimed at cutting power use, as the province confronts a “severe” electrical supply crisis.
In late May, China’s state council, or cabinet, announced that it will crack down on bitcoin mining and trade due to underlying financial dangers.
Since then, major Chinese mining centers such as Sichuan, Inner Mongolia, and Xinjiang have all published specific measures to combat the illegal activity. Prior to the crackdown, China was responsible for around 70% of worldwide bitcoin manufacturing. Although Anhui is not a major crypto-mining province, the latest edict highlights the ongoing pressure on Chinese miners. Some businesses are already closing or looking to relocate, in search of tolerant authorities, low temperatures to avoid overheating machines, and low-cost electricity – ideally surplus power from hydro plants or oil fields that would otherwise be wasted.
Miners in the energy-intensive cryptocurrency mining industry utilize specially-designed, high-power computers, or rigs, to solve complicated arithmetic puzzles in order to create new virtual currencies like bitcoin.
According to the report, Anhui’s electricity demand would climb to 73.14 million kilowatts in 2024, but the province’s present supply is just 48.4 million kilowatts, implying a “quite large difference.”
In addition to combating bitcoin mining, Anhui will push for electricity pricing reforms to encourage more efficient use of energy.
(Samuel Shen in Shanghai and Alun John in Hong Kong contributed reporting; Lincoln Feast edited the piece.)/n
