China finally cracks down on Bitcoin mining due to electricity shortage

As many probably know, the majority of Bitcoin mining is being done in various regions of China due to cheap electricity. The country’s province of Sichuan, in particular, stands out as it produces over 50% of the hash rate that goes into the Bitcoin mining process.

So far, China has not been particularly supportive of crypto mining. In fact, it even had plans to crack down on it, until recently. However, while it wasn’t supportive of it, it never openly attacked it, until now.

According to new reports, the authorities of the province are now cracking down on BTC mining operations within the entire region due to electricity shortage. Now, as reported by local news sources, the authorities are targeting mining operators, but also power stations themselves.

While the miners are clearly targeted for spending large quantities of electricity, power stations are being targeted for supplying the power to unlicensed miners. Earlier this month, Sichuan authorities charged two power plants with a fine of $140,000 for sending electricity to mining farms.

Sichuan region sees power shortage

The abundance of mining farms comes due to cheap electricity, which, in turn, comes from excessive rain during the region’s wet season (May-September). However, outside of the wet season, the area tends to suffer power shortages due to its inability to create enough power to sustain the entire region.

Of course, China still lacks any clear laws concerning crypto mining, which is why miners still operate heavily within the country. Two-thirds of BTC’s hash rate comes from China, and 50% of the total share comes from Sichuan, as mentioned.

As a result, crypto mining is currently being targeted by the Sichuan region’s authorities, but also by inner Mongolian regulators. Chinese authorities also seized as many as 7,000 crypto mining devices that are considered illegal. The devices were taken from various communities, merchants, as well as other entities.