China's crackdown on cryptocurrency mining has extended to the southwest province of Sichuan, where authorities ordered more than 25 large cryptocurrency mining projects permanently closed.
Crypto mining is big business in China, accounting for more than half of global Bitcoin production. But the State Council, China's cabinet, last month vowed to clamp down on Bitcoin mining and trading as part of a series of measures to control financial risks.
Other popular mining regions, such as Inner Mongolia, have cited cryptocurrency mining's use of electricity generated from highly polluting sources such as coal in government orders that target the industry.
Friday's move in Sichuan, where miners mostly use hydropower to run the specially designed computer equipment used in verifying Bitcoin transactions, suggests the crackdown is accelerating and broadening.
The Sichuan Provincial Development and Reform Commission, and the Sichuan Energy Bureau, each issued a notice demanding the closure of 26 suspected cryptocurrency mining projects by Sunday night (June 20).
Sichuan is China's second-biggest Bitcoin mining province. Some miners move their activities there in the rainy summer season to take advantage of its rich hydropower resources.
The notice orders state electricity companies to immediately stop supplying electricity to cryptocurrency mining projects. The authorities in Beijing urged local governments in Sichuan to start combing for crypto mining projects and shut them down.
Other regional mining centres in China include Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia and Yunnan, and all of them have ordered crackdowns on Bitcoin mining.
