The Chinese government plans to consider whether to ban cryptocurrency mining like Bitcoin. As justification against crypto mining, China cites arguments such as energy waste and environmental pollution.
What is the Chinese government planning? According to a document from China’s state planning agency, a ban on cryptocurrency mining is to be considered.
What is the current value of Bitcoin? Currently, the cryptocurrency is recovering and is around 5,000 US dollars per Bitcoin. The highest value was once 20,000 dollars in 2017.
A Ban Due to Environmental Pollution
Why is this ban coming? The reasons given include energy waste and significant environmental pollution.
For cryptocurrency mining like Bitcoin or Ethereum, fast graphics cards with good GPUs are used for the calculations. China now fears that there will be significant wear and tear on these.
Furthermore, crypto mining consumes a lot of electricity, which China claims could represent a waste of resources. Especially with Bitcoin, mining takes a long time, consuming a lot of electricity and putting heavy strain on the hardware through intensive computing processes.
According to the website Digiconomist.net, Bitcoin mining in one year is equivalent to the annual energy consumption of a country like Israel.
For China, Bitcoin is a Red Rag
Are these the real reasons? Cryptocurrencies have long been a thorn in China’s side. The anonymity of the payment process and the almost non-existent control likely pose a problem for the authorities.
If mining is classified as a waste of resources and environmental pollution, a ban could follow.
What would a ban mean? China is currently regarded as a “hotspot” for cryptocurrency mining. If a ban were to be implemented, this status would likely fall to other countries, particularly those where electricity is relatively cheap.
Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies currently play no significant role in online games, even if for example MMORPGs have been experimenting with it for years or Bitcoin has been hidden in No Man’s Sky.
However, whether a ban will come is still uncertain. Additionally, rules and regulations must first be established that the authorities in China must adhere to in order to enforce a ban.
