China, soon a call for cryptocurrency mining? The Asian country towards new holds on digital currencies.
According to what emerged from a study conducted by Bloombeg, the Chinese authorities would be considering vetoing the cryptocurrency mining, labeling it as an "unwanted" economic activity. But why?
The call for mining is approaching?
The China's National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) has published a new document that includes a proposal for prohibit the extraction of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, due to the concerns that the mining bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies may constitute an excessive waste of precious resources. The proposal is available for public contributions from interested parties, until May 7th.
Recall that cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin are mined using specialized computers that consume a huge amount of energy. A quantity so high that the total consumption of mining often approaches that of entire nationals, contributing to generating significant damage to the planet. As the South China Morning Post points out, Chinese regions that depend more on coal, such as Xinjiang and Inner Mongolia, have become popular destinations for miners who are looking for cheap electricity.
China, three quarters of the mining happens here
The insight conducted by the US media states that it is now estimated that well 74 percent of global cryptocurrency mining is taking place in China, a place where pollution is already high, and where, according to a recent Nature Sustainability report, cryptocurrency mining would help add between 3 and 15 million tons of carbon dioxide.
China's proposal to ban mining thus enriches the opposition that many authorities are producing against cryptocurrencies. For example, just remember that in September 2017 the People's Bank of China banned the initial coin offerings (ICOs) - although it is certainly not impossible to get around that ban. On the other hand, it would be much more difficult to circumvent the ban on cryptocurrency mining in the country, given that energy consumption also tends to reveal the location of the computers needed to make it ...
