China's tough policy on cryptocurrencies has led to a drop in cryptocurrency prices. China is ratcheting up regulatory pressure on cryptocurrencies again, but now it seems like about 90% of the country's bitcoin mining capacity will be shut down, according to a Global Times report published by the Chinese state. Last week, authorities in the southwestern province of Sichuan ordered crypto miners in the region to stop working.
The other day, the People's Bank of China announced that it is ordering banks to stop trading cryptocurrency. This caused the price of Bitcoin to drop to $31,000. Over the past week, the price has fallen by 20% amid uncertainty and panic in the market among investors.
Altcoins have also fallen, with the entire market down 14% in price over the past couple of days, according to cryptocurrency exchange platform CoinBase. These events also affect equipment prices. Chinese consumers seeking to purchase video cards, which are critical components for bitcoin mining, have seen a sharp drop in prices over the past day or so. According to the South China Morning Post, some prices have fallen by as much as 65%.
China sees decentralized and unregulated cryptocurrencies as a threat. The People's Bank of China said they "disrupted the normal order of the economy" and "increased the risks of illegal cross-border asset transfers and illegal activities such as money laundering." It plans to become the first country to launch its own official digital currency, the digital yuan.
Bitcoin mining won't stop because of China's crackdown. Instead, the miners change their location. Texas may be the first suitable place to benefit from the new restrictions in China, thanks to a relatively weak regulatory framework and cheap electricity.
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