Qinghai Province Orders Closure of All Crypto Mining Operations

China's Qinghai province has announced a ban on virtual currency mining operations, a government document said on Wednesday.

The price of Bitcoin, which had risen by nearly $4,000 in the past 24 hours as El Salvador recognized Bitcoin as legal tender, fell slightly on the news.

The full text of the document is as follows:

1. It is strictly forbidden for all regions to approve various virtual currency "mining" projects, and all existing virtual currency "mining" projects will be shut down.

2. Resolutely investigate and punish project entities that set up projects in the name of big data, supercomputing centers, etc. but engage in virtual currency "mining". It is prohibited to provide venues and electricity support for virtual currency "mining" activities.

3. Inspections and random checks will be carried out on the cleanup and rectification situation in the later stage. Please prepare the relevant materials.

Please report the implementation of the above work to the Energy Conservation Division of the Provincial Department of Industry and Information Technology before June 20 in accordance with the requirements of the Notice.