Bitcoin mining might make a comeback in China as the world’s most populous country has sought public opinion over unbanning. The National Development and Reform Commission of the People’s Republic of China sent a request titled “Notice of the National Development and Reform Commission on the revision of the “Industrial Structure Adjustment Guidance” on Oct 21. This signals increasing shift in the Govt’s attitude towards cryptocurrency and Bitcoin mining in general.
China has had a long history of “repeatedly” banning crypto, it effectively forced the Bitcoin mining operation out of the country citing “power wastage” and “lack of tangible benefit to the society” recently, losing the top spot of the country with the most hash power to the United States. The mining pool operators for Ethereum were similarly affected with Antpool – the largest crypto mining pool announcing on Oct 14 that it would check and block IP addresses originating from Chinese mainland from participating in the pool.
China used to account about two third of global bitcoin mining activities, and now zero. pic.twitter.com/YXWFN6Ubtf
Last month, the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) declared all crypto-related transactions as illegal on Sep 24. A circular issued and available on the official website stated that Bitcoin and another virtual currency trading “is prevalent” and “disrupting the economic and financial order”. PBOC accused cryptocurrencies of money laundering, illegal fundraising, fraud, pyramid schemes, and other activities. The financial institutions operating inside China were prohibited from providing any services to the crypto industry.
However, the opinion solicitation from the public over the matter of Bitcoin and crypto mining is a welcome change and shows that the Chinese Govt is likely in the process of making a U-Turn over its earlier stances, amidst the Bitcoin rise and the blockchain technology permeating in multiple sectors. The Bitcoin mining unbanning might be the start of a different policy towards cryptocurrencies and the desire to not get left behind in blockchain technology competition.
