China excludes Bitcoin mining from restricted activities list
- Earlier in April, Bitcoin mining was listed under restricted activities by China.
- According to a study, nearly half of Bitcoin mining pools are in the Asia-Pacific region.
One of the world’s biggest manufacturers of Bitcoin mining gear, China, has decided to not follow through on a government proposal. As per Al Jazeera, the state planner has indicated that they will not be eliminating the mining of cryptocurrency.
In April, China's National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) asked for public opinion on a revised list of industries it intended to encourage, restrict or eliminate. Mining of Bitcoin was listed under “restricted” at that time. However, the final list published by the state planner did not have Bitcoin mining in the list. CoinDesk reported the exclusion. The reason for this move by NRDC remains unclear and has not been clarified by the authorities.
While China is preparing to launch its own digital currency, in recent years, it has tightly regulated the wider sector. In 2017, it banned initial coin offerings and shut down many crypto trading exchanges. This forced many firms to find bases in other countries. A University of Cambridge study last year found that nearly half of Bitcoin mining pools are in the Asia-Pacific area.
Author
Rajarshi Mitra
Independent Analyst
Rajarshi entered the blockchain space in 2016. He is a blockchain researcher who has worked for Blockgeeks and has done research work for several ICOs. He gets regularly invited to give talks on the blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies.
