Bitcoin Mining Is Labeled As ‘Undesirable’ Industry By China’s NDRC

The China National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), a government agency responsible for macroeconomic policies, has identified cryptocurrency mining as an “undesirable" industry, recommending local governments to eliminate it across the country.

The NDRC has published a draft proposal to revise the existing Catalog for Guiding Industry Restructuring, which lists the activities that the commission proposes to encourage, restrict or discontinue. The catalog classifies bitcoin mining as an undesirable sector of the economy, and, therefore, it should be eliminated along with a list of other sectors that either have low efficiency or have a negative impact on the environment.

The Commission published the first catalog of industrial restructuring in 2005. The catalog was later revised and updated in 2011, 2013 and 2016 and is currently undergoing another revision. The public will have it until May 7 to share feedback on proposed amendments, after which the final version will be published and become effective.

Currently, the world's largest manufacturers of cryptocurrency equipment, as well as miners, are still active in China. According to analysts, over the next summer, more than 1 mln cryptocurrency mining machines will operate in the southwestern region of China.

Image courtesy of UseTheBitcoin