Zhejiang and Jiangsu provinces recently started targeting miners who were consuming the resources of state-owned enterprises, government agencies, and universities and research institutes, according to a government statement and media reports that did not name the entities.
Jiangsu found about one-fifth of some 4,500 internet protocol addresses associated with illegal mining activity belonged to public institutions, according to the media outlet The Paper, which cited provincial communications authorities. Some 260,000 kilowatt hours of electricity were being used per day, the newspaper added.
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An electricity crunch caused by a shortage of coal has affected large swaths of China since last month, crimping growth forecasts in the world’s second-largest economy. While miners devour a lot of electricity, the amount consumed by the miners in Jiangsu worked out to 0.01% of its electricity demand based on 2020 data. The two eastern provinces combine to account for more than 16% of China’s total gross domestic product.
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China’s campaign against crypto currencies is forcing miners to cease operations or move to friendlier regions like Europe and North America.
The U.S. has become the world’s epicenter for Bitcoin mining, accounting for 35.4% of the global hash rate at the end of August, according to a Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance study published Wednesday. The rate -- a measure of computing power used to extract the digital currency -- was more than double the activity seen in April.
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