Inner Mongolia outlines how to ban encrypted mining

Inner Mongolia outlines how to ban encrypted mining

The Inner Mongolia branch of China’s top economic planning agency, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), has issued detailed draft guidelines explaining how local authorities can crack down on crypto mining activities in the region.

The guidelines are part of Inner Mongolia’s efforts to implement an earlier circular issued by the NDRC on Feb. 25. The earlier notice said local governments would eliminate carbon emissions from mining operations due to environmental concerns and the negative impact of mining on achieving China’s goal of reducing emissions.

The NDRC is seeking public comment on the guidelines from May 25 to June 1, but has not yet implemented the plan.

The move was also triggered in part by a notice issued by China’s State Council on Friday to crack down on cryptocurrency mining. The NDRC said, “In accordance with the requirements of the State Council’s Financial Stability Development Commission circular, we will strictly enforce the ban on cryptocurrency mining and further crack down on the mining industry.”

While the guide is only being implemented in China’s autonomous region of Inner Mongolia, it may shed light on how the central government agency or the NDRC is implementing the State Council’s recent crackdown notice.

The guide includes eight specific measures to monitor and punish certain companies and individuals involved in crypto-mining activities in the region, including data centers in industrial parks and cloud, data and telecommunications companies that provide services to miners.

In addition to companies that may be involved in large-scale mining activities, the guide also includes internet cafes.

Compared to the previous crackdown on mining activities in the region in September 2019, the latest announcement takes a more comprehensive approach, targeting a broader range of companies and individuals that may be involved in mining activities.

The previous crackdown targeted more data centers and left time for crypto mining companies to phase out their mining operations. This is part of a national campaign to curb the growth of energy-intensive industries.

The key question is whether local authorities will actually enforce the ban under this new plan, Bobby Lee, founder of cryptocurrency ballet Ballet and BTCC, one of the first exchanges in China, said Tuesday during the CoinDesk Consensus China Forum. Session 2021.