Last week we learned that China, which is estimated to be home to around 70% of cryptocurrency mining, is considering a ban on the activity. On April 8, the country’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) published a list of sectors it intends to promote, restrict or eliminate, and cryptocurrency mining was cited as lacking safe production conditions, a waste of resources and extremely harmful to the environment. Cryptocurrency mining requires huge amounts of electricity and the companies involved tend to be located in coal-dependent provinces, where the cost of energy is cheaper. It is estimated that the ... (full story)