Authorities in China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region have proposed closing all local cryptocurrency mining operations to reduce energy consumption in the region.
The National Development and Reform Commission of Inner Mongolia, or NDRC, has released an official proposal to shut down local cryptocurrency mining operations in line with energy conservation.
Published on Thursday last week, the draft proposal suggests a "comprehensive cleanup and closure of virtual currency mining projects" by the end of April. The authority also proposed a strict ban on new cryptocurrency mining projects in the region. The NDRC will collect public feedback on the draft proposal until Wednesday.
According to a Reuters report, Inner Mongolia was the only one of the 30 mainland areas included in Beijing's energy consumption and energy intensity review that failed to meet its 2019 energy savings targets.
Under the new energy control proposal, Inner Mongolia aims to limit energy consumption growth to about 5 million tons of standard coal equivalent in 2021. The authorities also plan to reduce energy intensity - the amount of energy consumed per unit of economic growth - by 3% from 2020 levels. Between 2016 and 2019, energy intensity in the region increased by 9.5%, while overall energy consumption increased by nearly 65 million tons.
