Gansu Rolls Out New Policies for Bitcoin Mining365

The Gansu Provincial Development and Reform Commission recently released the "Notice on Further Strengthening the Energy Conservation Management of Data Centers" (hereinafter referred to as the "Notice"), which proposes to carry out zoning management of virtual currency mining projects in the province and prohibit the development of new virtual currency mining projects in principle. Existing virtual currency mining projects that meet the relevant conditions can continue to operate, but they must complete energy conservation transformation tasks by the end of June 2023 and meet the relevant requirements for energy consumption and energy efficiency by the end of the year.

The "Notice" requires that all virtual currency mining projects in Gansu must be located in the designated industrial parks, and the construction scale and energy consumption indicators must be reviewed and approved by the provincial energy department. Virtual currency mining projects that do not meet the relevant conditions or have not completed the energy conservation transformation tasks on time will be ordered to shut down and rectify within a time limit. Construction projects that have not completed project approval procedures and energy consumption quota approval procedures will be included in the list of key supervision projects and will not be allowed to start construction.

The "Notice" also requires that virtual currency mining projects must implement energy conservation and emission reduction measures, adopt advanced energy-saving technologies and equipment, and improve energy utilization efficiency. The energy consumption of virtual currency mining projects shall not exceed the approved energy consumption quota, and the carbon emissions shall meet the relevant requirements of the province. Virtual currency mining projects that fail to meet the energy conservation and emission reduction requirements will be punished according to law.

The "Notice" further requires that all virtual currency mining projects in Gansu must strengthen safety management, establish and improve safety management systems, and ensure the safe and stable operation of equipment. Virtual currency mining projects that fail to meet the safety management requirements will be ordered to shut down and rectify within a time limit.

The "Notice" is another blow to the Bitcoin mining industry in China. In recent years, China has been cracking down on Bitcoin mining due to concerns about energy consumption and financial stability. In May 2021, China's State Council issued a notice to ban Bitcoin mining and trading in the country. As a result, many Bitcoin miners in China were forced to shut down their operations or relocate to other countries.

The "Notice" from the Gansu Provincial Development and Reform Commission is a further indication that the Chinese government is not planning to relax its stance on Bitcoin mining. It is likely that other provinces in China will follow suit and implement similar policies. This will make it increasingly difficult for Bitcoin miners to operate in China, and may lead to a further decline in the country's share of the global Bitcoin mining market.

2025-01-15

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