Chinese Bitcoin Mining Giant Bitmain Hit With $3.7M Tax Penalty

• The regulator punished Bitmain with around 25 million Chinese yuan ($3.7 million).
• Bitmain was fined on April 4, 2023, for failing to remit individual income taxes.

Bitmain, a cryptocurrency mining company located in Beijing, allegedly broke Chinese tax law and was fined heavily as a result. On April 11, the local news source Sina Finance reported that Bitmain Technologies had been hit with a tax penalty by the Beijing Municipal Office of the State Administration of Taxation.

The report says that the regulator punished Bitmain with around 25 million Chinese yuan ($3.7 million), using figures from Qichacha, China’s data directory of private and public firms.

Data shows that Bitmain was fined on April 4, 2023, for failing to remit individual income taxes in compliance with regulations governing the collection and distribution of such taxes in China. The statement cited specific irregularities including taxes paid by Bitmain workers on their salary, bonuses, labor dividends, allowances, and other forms of compensation.

Persisted Through Regulatory Ambiguity

Meanwhile, in August of 2022, tax investigators notified Bitmain of potential tax irregularities, according to the tax authorities. Personal income tax in the amount of 16.6 million yuan ($2.4 million) has not been paid by Bitmain’s Beijing branch as of yet.

Bitmain, which has been in business since 2013, is a major player in the cryptocurrency mining industry because of its reputation as a leading provider of mining gear and solutions.

According to reports, the firm was forced to cease operations in China in October 2021 after the Chinese government issued a nationwide ban on cryptocurrencies in September 2021. After then, nothing is known about the company’s activities. Bitmain has persisted through regulatory ambiguity and a severe bear market in cryptocurrencies in 2022.