China’s cryptocurrency-mining crackdown spreads to Yunnan in southwest

China’s crackdown on cryptocurrencies has spread to the country’s southwest with a campaign against misuse of electricity by bitcoin miners in Yunnan province, local media reported on Saturday.

In addition to concerns about the huge amounts of energy needed for the computing power to create cryptocurrencies, the central government is also concerned about speculation after a surge in the price of bitcoin.

China accounts for a over half of global bitcoin production, but some miners have been considering moving elsewhere after the State Council, China’s cabinet, vowed to clamp down on bitcoin mining and trading last month.

The Energy Administration of Yunnan on Friday issued a notice ordering a probe into misappropriation and unauthorized use of electricity by bitcoin miners, vowing punishment, the Science and Technology Innovation Express News said.