Bitmain – one of the world’s largest manufacturers of bitcoin mining machines – revealed it would no longer deliver crypto mining rigs to mainland China addresses. However, the firm would continue shipping its products to overseas destinations.
The Chinese crackdown on cryptocurrency mining and trading has affected Bitmain as well. The Beijing-based company announced on its WeChat account that it will halt shipping its Antminer crypto mining rigs to addresses located in China starting from October 11th. Nevertheless, Bitmain will continue serving customers based in Hong Kong and Taiwan.
“Strictly abide by the laws and regulations of the locations of the company’s entities is the operating principle that Bitmain has always adhered to. From October 11, 2021, Antminer will stop shipping to mainland China (excluding Hong Kong and Taiwan).
For customers in mainland China who have purchased long-term products, our staff will contact them to provide alternative solutions.”
The large mining producer added that the new policy will not affect clients in overseas markets. According to the announcement, Bitmain’s team “is working hard to ensure the supply of customers around the world.” As such, the firm has increased its production capacity for modular mining containers – Antbox.
Bitmain’s decision to withdraw from the Chinese market seems logical since last month, the local authorities carried out a major operation in Inner Mongolia, after which they seized 10,100 mining rigs. This was the 45th such confiscation in that province, while Sichuan, Yunnan, Xinjiang, and Qinghai have also been targeted before.
While China’s hostile stance on crypto has been going on for nearly a decade, the country and its central bank took it a step further this year by prohibiting all local organizations from dealing with companies related to the digital asset space.
Aside from the immediate negative effects on prices in the market, the move also forced numerous firms to close their Chinese branches. The popular exchange Huobi was one of the first and KuCoin followed suit shortly after.
A more recent report claimed that in just the first two weeks after the latest Chinese ban, the number of companies that had to stop serving locals had exceeded 20.