Xinjiang authorities have ordered an immediate halt to bitcoin mining

The authorities of the Chinese province of Xinjiang today ordered the immediate termination of the activities of bitcoin miners in the territory under their control.

According to the notification of the Regional Reform and Development Commission, appropriate measures should be taken by the administration of the Zhongdong Economic and Technological Development Park. The territory of the park covers 15,500 square kilometers and accommodates many enterprises for the extraction and use of coal, including coal-fired power plants and industrial factories. It also hosts some of China's largest miners due to the high availability of electricity.

The local authorities motivated the decision by the implementation of the instructions of the State Council of the People's Republic of China on curbing financial risks associated with bitcoin mining and trading, and "Measures for assessing the energy Conservation of investment projects" of the National Commission for Reform and Development of China. Zhongdong is considered an important center for bitcoin mining in the country.

It is expected that the latest measures of the Chinese leadership will have a negative impact on the computing power of the bitcoin network. In comparison with Inner Mongolia, where a similar order was recently issued, Xinjiang has a large amount of resources for mining cryptocurrency. In addition, miners began to leave Inner Mongolia in early March. The average bitcoin hashrate has experienced a moderate increase to 150 EH/s since the last difficulty adjustment on May 29.

In Sichuan, where water resources are the predominant source of electricity, a meeting of the local administration was held earlier regarding the possible consequences of the mining ban, but no measures have yet been taken there.