China is known for being very vocal against the use of cryptocurrency and its mining. Once a Bitcoin mining powerhouse, the country is now cracking down on crypto by seizing equipment and raising electricity prices. Last year, the country announced a full-fledged crypto mining ban citing environmental reasons. Multiple provinces of China have reported the confiscation of over 3600 BTC mining rigs by the authorities.
China making it hard for illegal BTC miners
In a bid to impose a complete ban, China’s Guangdong, Heilongjiang, and Shanxi provinces recently outlined strict measures to against culprits involved in BTC mining.
Dongguan city in Guangdong province reported that its administration carried out around 6,050 inspections till Mid March. As of now, a total of 2,957 mining equipment has been seized from 24 centralized mining dens and 35 individual mining farms.
Another city in Guangdong province, Yunfu disclosed that they have managed to seize 554 mining rigs in a joint team inspection. According to a report, the mine was set up in a stationery manufacturing workshop.
The Mudanjiang city in Heilongjiang province reported that many residential garages were been used to mine Bitcoin. The officials seized more than 60 rigs, and also reported illegal electricity theft worth more than 300,000 yuan (approx $47,000). It is being reported that a criminal gang was operating these Bitcoin minings and stealing electricity to run them.
The Shanxi province has declared that it is raising the electricity price by 1 yuan ($0.16) per kilowatt to counter crypto mining farms. This action will be implemented from May 10.
Sichuan province launches its own NFT marketplace
NFTs, called digital collectibles in China, are one of the country’s last few remaining links to cryptocurrencies. The collectibles are wildly popular in the country, and have even spurred issuances by government bodies, such as state-run news agency Xinhua.
The Sichuan province of China recently launched its own NFT marketplace. As per reports, the cultural and tourism authority of the province is ready with a digital asset trading platform in order to uplift their music industry. The government has informed that there are a number of music companies that are using blockchain technology to protect their copyright.
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Source: https://coingape.com/china-cracks-down-on-illegal-bitcoin-miners-seizes-over-3500-rigs/