Sichuan closes 26 cryptocurrency mining farms

The government of Sichuan, one of the largest cryptocurrency mining regions in China, has issued an order to shut down local bitcoin miners. The region is popular for cryptocurrency mining, thanks to its abundant hydroelectricity.

The Sichuan Energy Bureau and the Sichuan Development and Reformation Commission issued a joint document earlier today to their subordinate state-owned power generators and distributors. Per the documents, the government has issued the order to close down local Bitcoin miners. This would see 26 cryptocurrency mining farms operating in the region shut down their operations.

 

The first measure by the Sichuan government is to order the State Grid to cut off its hydroelectricity supply to 26 entities that have been reported to be Bitcoin mining farms. The second-order would affect the smaller cryptocurrency miners operating in the region. The order issued by the government would affect smaller mining operations that get their energy privately from smaller power plants.

China’s tough stance on cryptocurrencies continue

China has maintained a tough stance on cryptocurrency activities over the past few years. It began by banning initial coin offerings (ICOs) and cryptocurrency exchanges from operating in the country.

Sichuan’s ban on crypto mining activities came after China’s Qinghai province issued a similar order a few weeks ago. Crypto mining is also prohibited in Xinjiang and Inner Mongolia.

China remained the largest cryptocurrency mining country. However, recent crackdowns have led to several mining farms shutting down their operations. The government has also restricted the access to cryptocurrencies and related products.

Crypto exchange Huobi recently restricted the leverage of existing users to less than 5x after stopping new users in China from using derivatives. Chinese traders on Huobi previously enjoyed leverage of up to 125x.

 

Last week, Chinese search engines blocked Binance, Huobi and OKEx. Hence, making it impossible for residents to access the crypto platforms. Social media platforms such as Weibo also blocked social media accounts belonging to cryptocurrency influencers and other popular figures.