Illegal crypto miners in China will now be placed on social credit blacklist

China is once again taking its campaign against cryptocurrency mining in its Inner Mongolia Region as harsher punishments will be brought upon those who will be caught engaging in the now-illegal activity.

According to a report from South China Morning Post, among the penalties is placing offenders on social credit blacklist which effectively denies an individual in getting loans or even just using the country’s transportation system.

The new rules will cover data centers, industrial parks, telecoms companies, internet firms and cybercafés. Offenders that are guilty of operating mining equipment may face business license revocation, removal from local electricity trading scheme and permanent shutdown of business.

Already a tough crackdown

The public review for the draft rules may be up until June 1, but the Inner Mongolia Region is already staring at a series of intense and crippling moves to thwart cryptocurrency mining.

Prior to this, a telephone hotline was already made active at the said region, serving as a direct line for citizens in reporting to authorities any suspected crypto mining activities than are carried out remotely.

Getting rid of energy-hungry digital currency mining is part of the country’s master plan to be carbon neutral by 2060 and its determination already had a chilling effect as three mining companies, namely BTC.TOP, Huobi and HashCow announcing their stoppage of business operations in Mainland China.

Another Asian country on crackdown

Fellow Asian nation Iran is replicating the move of China, but for different reasons. On Wednesday, through a television address, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani announced an immediate ban on all bitcoin mining activities until September.

The country is already experiencing grid blackouts and dimming of streetlights, brought about by energy shortages which are believed to be caused by over-consumption of power by bitcoin miners.

Authorities have already offered 200 million Rials ($873) as a reward for anyone who can provide information on the location of illegal crypto miners on Iranian soil.

Image courtesy of Cointelegraph News/YouTube

Source: https://bitcoinerx.com/blockchain/illegal-crypto-miners-in-china-will-now-be-placed-on-social-credit-blacklist/