Sichuan To Probe Bitcoin Mining Energy Use

The province is set to mirror previous investigations in Inner Mongolia and Beijing into the energy usage of miners.

Chinese energy regulators in Sichuan have revealed their plan to obtain information regarding energy use for bitcoin mining from local power companies in the area per a Reuters report. According to the report, the collection of this information may possibly result in “a clampdown in the second-biggest bitcoin production hub.”

This is in line with an earlier decision made by the central government of the Asian country to deal decisively with bitcoin mining and related activities. Different parts of the country have begun uprooting bitcoin mining operations within their localities. The report noted that “Inner Mongolia has expressed readiness to root out the business.”

Due to this level of hostility toward the industry, many bitcoin mining centers have begun relocating most of their mining activities to North America and Central Asia.

Interestingly, an official of the Sichuan Energy Regulatory Office of National Energy Administration noted that the province is not the only one collecting information regarding energy usage. However, he also declined to provide further information on whether the province may be looking to ban bitcoin mining.

Mining is a popular industry that is responsible for the minting of new units of bitcoin. The industry depends on the use of high-powered computers and focuses on solving mathematical problems with an energy-intensive process.

“Bitcoin Power: The Energy Of A Money” and “A Comparison Of Bitcoin’s Environmental Impact With That Of Gold And Banking” are both detailed looks at the rather environmentally friendly reality that is the bitcoin industry, while proving wrong claims that bitcoin is destroying our Earth. The energy usage investigations by China are evidence that Chinese officials have yet to understand the impact bitcoin has on the incentive system of energy usage.