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China Wants To Ban Bitcoin Mining
China's state planner wants to eliminate bitcoin mining in the country, according to a draft list of industrial activities the agency is seeking to stop in a sign of growing government pressure on the cryptocurrency sector. From a report: China is the world's largest market for computer hardware designed to mine bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, even though such activities previously fell under a regulatory grey area. The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) said on Monday it was seeking public opinions on a revised list of industries it wants to encourage, restrict or eliminate. The list was first published in 2011. The draft for a revised list added cryptocurrency mining, including that of bitcoin, to more than 450 activities the NDRC said should be phased out as they did not adhere to relevant laws and regulations, were unsafe, wasted resources or polluted the environment. It did not stipulate a target date or plan for how to eliminate bitcoin mining, meaning that such activities should be phased out immediately, the document said. The public has until May 7 to comment on the draft.
I think what they realized was that the only reason so many people in China were doing it was as a means of moving wealth outside of the country, which China wants to clamp down on since it limits their control. Like anything else, the Chinese government doesn't care too much as long as it doesn't challenge their authority.
The entire purpose of cryptocurrency is to undermine the state. There is literally no other value add to the blockchainist (pseudo) decentralization model of electronic currency.
the most impressive feat of Bitcoin is that it's managed to use a misdirection story about 'technology' (plus some good old fashioned corruption) to prevent china - of all nations - from recognizing its true and intended purpose for so long.
Decentralization: the brief interval between the decline of one centralized regime and rise of another.
This is good for Bitcoin
It might be. It could force bitcoin to move from proof-of-work to proof-of-stake or some other scheme that distributes maintenance of the blockchain (and does not waste energy). Right now mining is not decentralizing.
Bitcoin is not decentralized and has not been for years. The underlying theory of bitcoin is that a diverse and decentralized population of users maintain the blockchain via their ordinary computers. Bitcoin has neither diversity nor decentralization. Bitcoin is not diverse as it is dominated by the manufacturers and owners of expensive and specialized mining hardware, ASICs. Bitcoin is not decentralized as 70%+ of the miners are in a single country, China, and low cost government controlled power. Bitcoin has deviated from its core design that was supposed to ensure security. Bitcoin is vulnerable to government manipulation as it exists at the moment.
If China follow through with a mining ban and bitcoin evolves, moves back towards its design, they yeah, that would be good. If not and it dies and some other blockchain based non-proof-of-work coin becomes dominant that too is good.