China Issues No Ban on Bitcoin Mining Activities In the Country

In the latest development, China has scrapped the plan to ban cryptocurrency mining activities taking place in the country. This is an important development as China has been hostile to a majority of the cryptocurrency-related activities taking place in the homeland.

Earlier this year, the China National Development and Reform Commission had proposed banning crypto mining activities in China, however, it seems to have taken the decision to withdraw its decision.

On Wednesday, November 6, the NDRC has published a new finalized catalog for Guiding Industry Restructuring which will come into effect starting January 1. 2020.

The NDRC is one of the top-level economic planning agencies which works directly under the China State Council. Founded in 1988, it is one of the 26 cabinet-level departments which together form the State Council of the Chinese government.

In a press conference on Wednesday, NDRC officials stated that since the release of the initial draft, the agency received 2,500 suggestions on several issues that were taken into consideration before finalizing the draft.

Although China banned all public cryptocurrencies in the country two years back, it is still a hot destination for Bitcoin and cryptocurrency mining due to the availability of cheap and affordable hydroelectric power in abundant quantity.

Regions like Xinjiang and Sichuan have been the hot destinations for miners over the last year. However, fearing China’s crackdown on their crypto-mining businesses, several miners have fled away to overseas locations over the last year.

This news comes as a big breather to the existing miners in China and might attract foreign miners as well.

China, as we know, has accelerated its development of a central bank digital currency (CBDC) and is planning to launch it anytime soon. With big organizations like Facebook joining the crypto bandwagon, China fears the dominance of external digital currency which might challenge the country’s financial stability, said experts.

To take an edge in the digital currency race, China is speeding up the process of developing its native Digital Yuan. Recent reports have also suggested that China might back its Digital Yuan with its gold reserves, but note that this is just a rumor in the air with no official confirmation.

To accommodate its CBDC plans, China recently passed a law on state-sanctioned digital currencies.