Small hydroelectric plants go on sale in China amid crackdown on miners

Owners of small hydroelectric plants in China are forced to sell equipment amid restrictive measures by authorities against Bitcoin miners. The South China Morning Post (SCMP) reports.

The publication noted a rise in the number of advertisements for small hydroelectric plants for sale on the Xianyu platform since the launch of the campaign against cryptocurrency mining in China. These are small hydroelectric plants producing around 50 MW.

Some of them are in Sichuan Province. On June 18, local authorities demanded the shutdown of the operations of ‘key’ miners until June 20 and banned energy firms from supplying electricity to them.

“You will be able to mine cryptocurrency covertly if you buy a hydroelectric power plant,” said the author of one of the advertisements.

Two other sellers in comments to the SCMP said the mining ban did not affect their decision to place advertisements. Another three interviewees confirmed a link between authorities’ actions and the rise in listings, and one noted falling prices for hydroelectric plants.

In May 2021, three associations under PBoC issued a joint notice prohibiting companies from supporting a cryptocurrency-related business.

In the same month, Vice Premier Liu He of the State Council of the PRC announced measures against cryptocurrency mining and Bitcoin trading.

Later the Xinhua News Agency criticised digital gold and its extraction methods. Within a month, authorities in several Chinese provinces ordered miners to cease operations. Among them: Yunnan, Qinghai, Xinjiang and Inner Mongolia.

On June 29, journalist Colin Wu reported that the Chinese political tabloid Global Times described Bitcoin and other digital assets as “illegal currencies and illegal investment products, and tools for fraud.”

Chinese political tabloid Global Times published a strange comment today: Bitcoin and other virtual currencies have been considered illegal currencies and illegal investment products, and even tools for fraud.

— Wu Blockchain (@WuBlockchain) June 29, 2021

As forecast by Kevin Zhang, the vice president of mining company Foundry, by June 30 the share of idle capacity in China will reach about 90%.

Alejandro de la Torre, vice president of the Poolin mining pool, told ForkLogthat the era of PRC dominance in the mining industry is over.

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