From Quartz
Having shut down the exchanges where cryptocurrencies like bitcoin are traded, the Chinese government is now going after the facilities where such currencies are “mined.” To do so, it’s hitting such operations where it hurts: electricity supply.Read more: https://qz.com/1172632/chinas-dominance-in-bitcoin-mining-under-threat-as-regulators-hit-where-it-hurts-electricity/Fresh reports have emerged about a crackdown—though not an outright ban—on bitcoin mining operations in China. Bloomberg reported Wednesday (Jan. 3) that the nation’s central bank has outlined plans to curb the power supply to some bitcoin miners, citing unnamed sources. Reuters noted that the bank intends to tell local governments to regulate miners’ power usage to “gradually reduce the scale of their production.” Chinese business magazine Caixin, meanwhile, reported that (paywall) authorities will no longer offer mining companies preferential benefits such as discounted electricity and tax deductions.
The crackdown could well put an end to China’s dominance in bitcoin mining.
As a mining hobbyist living in a place with expensive electricity I'm happy to hear the playing field is going to be leveled a bit. The mining space is experiencing a rebirth right now with newer ASIC resistant algorithms making GPU mining quite profitable. If you are thinking about building your own GPU mining rig, I can tell you from experience to get on it right now! Prices and selection on the best motherboards and GPU's are moving quickly. Just last week newegg raised their prices and began limiting customers to only 1 of any high end GPU where previously they had allowed 2.
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