China’s top economic planner calls for public feedback on mining ban

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

China’s top economic planner is seeking public feedback on the digital currency block reward mining ban. The China National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) has given a one month period for the feedback even as the country continues an aggressive anti-mining campaign.

China has always been the hub of block reward mining, at one time producing three-quarters of the global BTC hash rate. However, in the past year, Beijing has turned on the industry and pursued aggressive measures to kick the miners out. From some states hiring experts to smoke out the miners to others setting up dedicated hotlines for whistleblowers to others threatening social blacklisting, China is pursuing diverse methods in its push against the miners.

However, in a twist, the top state planning agency wants to know what the masses think about the ban. “Relevant units and people from all walks of life” can submit their until November 21. They can do so via physical mail, email, or via NDRC’s website or that of the Ministry of Justice.

About a month ago, the agency included block reward mining on its list of outdated industries whose contributions to the economy are dwindling by the day.

And as China-based outlet Global Times reports, the agency will list block reward mining as an abandoned industry in a new version of China’s industrial structure adjustment guidance. According to the agency, this move will “facilitate the optimization of China’s industrial structure, and promote energy conservation and emissions reduction, and help the country achieve carbon peak and carbon neutrality.”

The revised guidance describes block reward mining as a sector that makes only a small contribution to the national economy but consumes a lot of energy and generates a lot of carbon emissions. 

The agency also posted an update on its website that acknowledged that the U.S. had overtaken China as a global mining hub. Citing data from the Cambridge Alternative Finance Research Center, the agency noted that as China dropped from its once-dominant position in the mining sphere, the U.S. had grown aggressively to become the world’s largest block reward mining hub.

Watch: CoinGeek Zurich panel, BSV is Green Bitcoin: Energy Consumption & Environmental Sustainability