Beijing’s Crypto Crackdown Sends Mining Abroad

Cryptocurrency miners in China are shifting their operations to other markets abroad following Beijing’s latest crackdown.

A committee from China’s State Council announced on Friday that it would crack down on crypto, specifically naming Bitcoin as a major concern.

The government will crackdown on bitcoin mining and trading behavior, and resolutely prevent the transfer of individual risks to the society, said the committee led by Vice Premier Liu He.

Although the statement stopped short of communicating or signaling an outright ban, miners in China – estimated to account for as much as 70 percent of global crypto supply – are already planning to shift their operations abroad.

Huobi Mall, an arm of major cryptocurrency exchange Huobi, said over the weekend that it had suspended its custody business and is now contacting overseas service providers to export mini rigs in the future.

Crypto mining pool BTC.TOP also announced the suspension of its China business over regulatory risks and its founder Jiang Zhuoer said that the firm will mainly conduct its crypto mining operations in North America in the future.