China Will Close Bitcoin Mining Activity

media.coindesk.com

The bitcoin miner's gait in China is rumored to be over soon. The reason, the country's regulators are reportedly asking the local government to close the action of bitcoin mining in its territory.

Based on leaked documents reported by Bloomberg and Reuters, China also plans to limit the supply of electricity to miners bitcoin. In China, it is known there are companies that run the action of bitcoin mining.

Their existence is considered problematic, because the electricity consumption required by the perpetrators is so great. In fact, the government is trying to distribute electricity more evenly to some areas.

The mining also generates speculative shares known as virtual currencies that are considered too risky.

In the document also mentioned so that local government invites miner bitcoin to get out of business. They are also required to report information related to bitcoin mining facilities in their area, including the number of outgoing actors.

Quoted from Quartz, Tuesday (9/1/2018), one of the government employees has confirmed the truth of the document. According to him, the decision to limit the bitcoin mining was made in a meeting held in November last year.

A number of parties also said the regulation came out following the decision of China's central bank to close the bitcoin market operations in the country by September 2017. The move was chosen because the virtual currency is considered risky and speculative.

For information, China is known to have donated more than two-thirds of bitcoin mining worldwide. The country is known to have large-scale bitcoin minerals.

A number of large miners are also reported to have moved their activities abroad, such as Canada and the United States. However, it is not yet certain whether this regulation will effectively reduce bitcoin mining.

Restrictions on bitcoin activity are also done by South Korean regulators. This is known after the country's regulators conducted a joint inspection of six local banks offering virtual currency accounts at various institutions.

The use of virtual currencies such as bitcoin is increasingly feared could cause a spike in crime. Reported by Reuters, the joint investigation was conducted by the Financial Services Commission (FSC) and Financial Supervisory Services (FSS).

FSC Chairman Choi Jong-ku said in an official statement that both regulators would check whether the banks adhere to anti-money laundering regulations and use real names to create accounts.

"The virtual currency does not currently serve as a means of payment and is used for illegal purposes such as money laundering, fraud, and improper investor activity," said Choi.

The six banks under investigation are H Bank, Industrial Bank of Korea, Shinhan Bank, Kookmin Bank, Woori Bank, and Korea Development Bank. Representatives of NH Bank and Shinhan Bank declined to comment, while the rest could not be reached.

Choi explained, the regulator will look for ways to reduce the risks related to the cryptocurrency trade in South Korea. This step will include closing the various institutions or companies that use the currency.

Source: tekno.liputan6.com