The authorities in the Chinese province of Inner Mongolia are urging local residents to report illegal activities of cryptocurrency miners in order to reduce electricity consumption.
Regulators in Inner Mongolia have long been trying to tighten controls over the mining industry. In March, regulators proposed to completely ban the mining of cryptocurrencies in the province to save electricity.
In another attempt to “crowd out” miners, the Inner Mongolia Development and Reform Commission (DRC) has presented a platform through which the local population will inform the city administration about mining farms that may operate illegally in the region. Such data can be provided by calling the hotline, as well as by e-mail or letter.
DRC said the initiative aims to combat miners who enjoy tax, land and electricity benefits by posing as data centers.
In addition, Inner Mongolia plans to significantly reduce its carbon emissions over the next five years, in line with the current plan of the China National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC). The previous five-year NDRC program aimed to reduce electricity consumption by 15%.
Inner Mongolia was the only province that failed to achieve the desired results by the end of 2019, and in the first half of 2020, energy consumption in the province only increased. This can explain the tougher measures of regulators in relation to miners.
Inner Mongolia is one of the largest Chinese provinces with an area of about 1.1 million square meters. km. However, due to strong pressure on miners, it may lose its leading position in the industry, since a large number of mining farms are concentrated in this province, along with the provinces of Sichuan, Yunnan and Xinjiang. Many miners are gradually moving from Inner Mongolia to other jurisdictions with more loyal regulators.
According to a recent Bloomberg study, Sweden and Norway are once again becoming attractive countries for cryptocurrency mining thanks to the large number of hydroelectric power plants and low electricity prices.
