According to the Reuters report, cryptocurrency miners, including HashCow and BTC.TOP have halted all or part of their China operations after Beijing intensified a crackdown on bitcoin mining and trading, hammering cryptocurrencies amid heightened global regulatory scrutiny. A State Council committee led by Vice Premier Liu He announced the crackdown on crypto miners late on Friday as part of efforts to fend off financial risks. 

Crypto firms halt their operations in China. 

It was the first time China’s cabinet has targeted cryptocurrency mining, a sizable business in the world’s second-biggest economy that some estimates say accounts for as much as 70% of the global crypto supply. Cryptocurrency exchange Huobi on Monday suspended both crypto-mining and some trading services to new clients from mainland China, adding it will instead focus on overseas businesses. BTC.TOP, a crypto mining pool, also announced the suspension of its China business, citing regulatory risks, while crypto miner HashCow said it would halt buying new bitcoin mining rigs.

China cracks down on crypto mining to limit carbon emissions. 

Crypto miners use increasingly powerful, specially-designed computer equipment, or rigs, to verify crypto transactions in a process that produces newly minted cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin. “Crypto mining consumes a lot of energy, which runs counter to China’s carbon neutrality goals,” said Chen Jiahe, the chief investment officer of Beijing-based family office Novem Arcae Technologies. The crackdown is also part of China’s stepped-up drive to curb speculative crypto trading, the official added. The latest slump in cryptocurrencies also stems from tighter scrutiny in the United States. Earlier, U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said they pose risks to financial stability and indicating that greater regulation of the increasingly popular electronic currency may be warranted.