Inner Mongolia doubles down on crypto-mining ban and sets up a hotline for the general public to report suspected activity

Alessandro Bianchi/Reuters

  • China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region has set up a hotline for the general public to report any outlying cryptocurrency-mining operations that are still active in the region.
  • Its a move to further crack down on mining operations that could jeopardize China's goal to reduce carbon emissions.
  • Inner Mongolia was once a hub for crypto-mining operations but has tried to fully clear them out of the region.
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The government in China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region is cracking down further on cryptocurrency-mining operations.

The Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region Development and Reform Commission announced on Tuesday that it has set up a hotline, email, and mail address for the general public to report any outlying crypto-mining operations that are still active in the region.

The commission is also targeting mining companies that are posing as data centers and enjoying preferential policies in tax, land, and electricity prices, and any company that offers land rental services for crypto mining operations.

The creation of a hotline comes after the commission announced in March it was trying to fully clear out and shut down all virtual currency mining projects by the end of April 2021, per The Block.

According to Cointelegraph, Inner Mongolia was once a hub for cryptocurrency mining operations, and accounted for 7.71% of the global Bitcoin hash rate from September 2019 to April 2020.

Now, China has pledged to reduce carbon emissions, and Chinese authorities have cracked down on mining operations. China pledged in 2020 to reach carbon neutrality before 2060 and reach peak carbon emissions before 2030.

The announcement from Inner Mongolia comes as the cryptocurrency market experiences a steep sell-off. As of Wednesday afternoon, the global crypto market cap is $1.6 trillion, a 18.46% decrease over the last day, according to CoinMarketCap.

Read more: 'Wolf of All Streets' crypto trader Scott Melker breaks down his strategy for making money using 'HODLing' and 100X trade opportunities – and shares 5 under-the-radar tokens he thinks could explode

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