The Chinese government continues to take restrictive measures against cryptocurrencies. The recent reform implies higher electricity tariffs for mining.

China’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) will focus on restrictions imposed on government-owned mining companies. Any involvement of such companies in the mining activity will be prosecuted. As a demonstration of power, the local government expelled from China a former official of Jiangxi province Xiao, who was accused of abusing his authority and supporting cryptocurrency mining enterprises as well as bribery.

Beijing has outperformed its plan to crack down on bitcoin and especially on miners, blaming them for everything from energy shortages to coal mining fatalities. The next step toward tightening will be an increase in electricity tariffs. According to experts, these measures will affect only state-owned companies, but lately, they may cover private companies.

On September 24, the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) announced that cryptocurrencies could not be used in the markets the same way as fiat money. Overseas cryptocurrency exchanges providing services in mainland China are also illegal, the PBOC said.