According to Reuters, China’s state planner wants to ban Bitcoin mining. The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) has updated a draft list of industrial activities that it is looking to encourage, restrict, or eliminate.
The list was first published in 2011.
NDRC Wants to Ban Cryptocurrency Mining
Unfortunately for crypto enthusiasts, cryptocurrency mining has made the elimination list. The NDRC concluded that it, along with 450 activities, should be phased out as they did not follow current laws and regulations.
As stated, cryptocurrency mining was joined by 450 other activities deemed unsafe, wasteful, pollutant to the environment, or unlawful.
NDRC did not give a date or plan to implement the elimination of cryptocurrency mining but this, in turn, means it believes it should be phased out immediately.
However, the public has until May 7th to comment on the draft.
Opinion
Ironically, China is the world’s largest market for crypto mining hardware. Business has boomed in this sector despite crypto mining falling under a regulatory grey area.
With a majority of Chinese people in support of the cryptocurrency industry, the list might face a backlash. It is not necessarily a reflection of everyday sentiment, but rather the “attitude of the country’s industrial policy” toward the cryptocurrency industry.
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Jehan Chu, a managing partner at blockchain investment firm Kenetic, said the following:
“The NDRC’s move is in line overall with China’s desire to control different layers of the rapidly growing crypto industry, and does not yet signal a major shift in policy. I believe China simply wants to ‘reboot’ the crypto industry into one that they have oversight on, the same approach they took with the Internet.”
China vs Crypto
The Chinese government has had strict cryptocurrency sanctions in place for years. Some examples include banning crypto-to-fiat trading, banning airdrops, and forbidding cryptocurrency events from taking place in financial districts. Major Chinese company Alibaba has even banned clients affiliated with crypto and/or crypto trading. With a continued clampdown in place in the country, the NDRC’s list may cause a knock on effect.
What do you think? Should the industry worry about the list?
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