China’s Inner Mongolia seizes 10,000 mining rigs from gov’t-owned tech park

One of the Chinese provinces that were previously block reward mining havens is ramping up its anti-mining stance, this time seizing over 10,000 mining rigs from a government-operated technology park. Authorities in Inner Mongolia busted the illicit mining operation which they claim will save the province over 1,000 kilowatt hours.

According to a report by state-owned Xinhua News Agency, the authorities seized 10,100 mining rigs from the SME Pioneer Park in the city’s Economic and Technological Development Zone. 

Such parks in China are part of a government initiative to foster the growth of certain industries. Companies operating from these parks get to enjoy reduced taxes, cheap rent, and other perks as the Chinese government seeks to promote the growth of the sectors of the economy they operate in.

It wasn’t clear if the authorities apprehended anybody for the crime or if they have any leads on who was behind the operation.

The busted operation allegedly consumed 1,104 kWh. Its closure marks the 45th operation that Inner Mongolia has shut down as it ramps up its anti-mining stance, in line with the central government’s crackdown on the sector. Xinhua News Agency claims that these operations were consuming 6.58 billion kWh a year, equivalent to two million tons of coal.

China has turned on the block reward mining industry and has now booted out thousands of miners from the country this year. This has been especially significant given that China controlled a majority of the global mining industry, reportedly hosting over 70% of the BTC hash rate at some point. According to Fred Thiel, the CEO of Marathon Digital Holdings, there have been over 500,000 mining rigs that have been banished from China since the crackdown began.

Inner Mongolia, which alongside Yunnan and Xinjiang was a miners’ haven, has been one of those that have been toughest on the industry this year. The province, which is the third largest in China, proposed harsh rules for mining operators a few months back, including social credit blacklisting which could extend to barring miners from even using public transportation.

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