One of the Chinese provinces is banning bitcoin mining

One of the Chinese provinces the Inner Mongolia , which is a large bitcoin center, prohibits its mining. The Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region of China plans to ban new cryptocurrency mining projects and to cancel all such existing activities. In this way, it wants to reduce energy consumption. The basis of bitcoin is a decentralized network, which means that it is not issued by any central entity, such as a central bank. Transactions are recorded by a decentralized database, a blockchain, and must be verified by miners. For this purpose, these miners have high-performance computers that solve complicated mathematical problems, which allows the implementation of bitcoin transactions, for which they receive a reward. Because they are high-performance computers, they consume a lot of energy. It is estimated that bitcoin extraction consumes 128.84 terawatt hours per year. This is more than consumed by countries such as Ukraine or Argentina, according to the Cambridge Bitcoin Electricity Consumption Index, a project of the University of Cambridge. The index estimates the approximate capacity of energy consumed to extract the largest and most well-known cryptocurrency. China accounts for 65% of global bitcoin production, and Inner Mongolia alone for up to about 8% for its cheap energy. By comparison, the United States' share of global mining is 7.2%. Inner Mongolia, located in the northern part of China, did not meet Beijing's energy consumption targets in 2019, which was reprimanded. In response, the region's Development and Reform Commission presented plans to reduce energy consumption. They include the closure of existing cryptocurrency mining projects by April 2021, while others will no longer receive a permit. Although the Chinese government supports the development of blockchain technology, it is taking repressive measures against cryptocurrencies. In 2017, Beijing banned ICO (initial coin offering), a form of financing through the issuance of digital coins. The government has also cracked down on companies involved in cryptomen operations, such as cryptomen exchanges. China is also preparing for the transition to a green economy. President Xi Jinping said last year that China should achieve carbon neutrality by 2060.