According to researchers, from September 2019 to April 2021, China's share in global bitcoin mining fell from 75.5% to 46%. At the same time, the changes were recorded before the country's authorities began to increase pressure on the cryptocurrency industry, so by today, China should account for an even smaller share.

At the same time, mining costs have increased in a number of other countries. The share of the United States increased 4 times (from 4.1% to 16.8%), and Kazakhstan's - six times (from 1.4% to 8.2%). The fourth and fifth places in the world ranking of countries for the extraction of bitcoins were taken by Russia and Iran, respectively.

Countries must follow China and match their measures.

Anhui, a small province in eastern China, was the last region in the country to announce a complete ban on cryptocurrency mining. The provincial authorities explained their decision by an acute shortage of electricity.

The province will close all crypto mining projects as part of measures aimed at reducing electricity consumption, as the province is facing a "serious" shortage.

In 2024, the demand for electricity in Anhui will grow to 73.14 million kWh, but at the moment the province can provide only 48.4 million kWh, which promises a "relatively large gap" and major problems with the supply of electricity in the future. In addition to eliminating cryptocurrency mining, Anhui also plans to reform electricity pricing to make it more economical.

Energy issues in China will be severe.

In May, China completely banned financial institutions and payment services from providing any services related to cryptocurrencies. In June, there were mass arrests of people suspected of using cryptocurrencies for criminal purposes. In the same month, local regulators increased pressure on banks and payment systems by banning any services related to cryptocurrencies, and Weibo blocked accounts in one way or another related to cryptoassets. As of July, half of the world's bitcoin mining companies have simply disappeared.

The People's Bank of China announced the closure of a company that develops software services for virtual currency transactions. Additionally, the PRC Central Bank warned other businesses against any assistance to such organizations, including the provision of premises or marketing services.

Seems to be working good.

UK news

Binance, one of the world's largest cryptocurrency exchanges, was banned on Sunday from any regulated activities in the UK when Britain's financial watchdog the Financial Conduct Authority imposed stringent requirements against Binance, a sprawling digital asset firm with subsidiaries around the world. The exchange has until Wednesday evening to confirm it has complied with the watchdog’s demands, including removing all advertising and financial promotions, according to the FCA’s register.

Binance must also make clear on its website, social media channels and all other communications that it is no longer permitted to operate in the U.K.

On Friday, regulators in China's Sichuan province, which was the last to defend against the central government's policy of curtailing cryptocurrency mining in the country, issued an order to “clean up and shut down” mining companies. Against this background, the cost of bitcoin sank by 5% Thus, there will soon be no legal miners in China, and a place for this business will be freed up in other countries.

As far as I hear US now do everything to keep Bitcoin afloat, including direct payments to big miners pools to keep them working.

Another bad week for Bitcoin could be a precursor of more pain to come.

Further weakness in its price may bring the $20,000 zone into view as a downside target, according to Oanda Corp., Evercore ISI and Tallbacken Capital Advisors LLC. Bitcoin has dropped about 7% this week and was trading at about $34,200 as of 10:16 a.m. in London.

The largest cryptocurrency is “dangerously approaching the $30,000 level” amid growing regulatory fears in the U.S., and “a break of $30,000 could see a tremendous amount of momentum selling,” said Edward Moya, senior market analyst with Oanda Corp.

It is struggle of two parties now, one want to keep Bitcoin around $35-45 and another want to make full scale crash with price as low as 4-5 thousands.

Iran follows China

The Iranian authorities have banned the mining of cryptocurrencies in the country until September 22. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani announced this on Iranian television.

According to the head of state, about 85% of miners operate in Iran without a license. The ban on the mining of digital assets was passed due to the peak seasons of the load on the electrical grids. Several major cities have experienced power outages amid rising electricity consumption and drought.

The American division of the environmental organization Greenpeace will refuse payments in bitcoin. Representatives of the organization stated this in an interview with The Financial Times. "The [bitcoin payments] policy ceased to be viable when the amount of energy required to operate it became clear," the organization said.

This rats smell the end.

The 27-year-old Ethereum co-creator told CNN Business in an exclusive interview Tuesday morning that he believes cryptocurrencies are a bubble that could burst at any moment. “It could have ended already,” Buterin said. "It could be over in a few months."

https://edition.cnn.com/2021/05/20/investing/vitalik-buterin-ethereum-billionaire/index.html

@robertGL

Bitcoin and similar tools play very important rule.

It is modern version of gold rush and even more close to lottery.

It makes people to believe into fairy tale that you can be nice and rich without doing anything useful.

The three associations under the People's Bank of China (PBC) have issued a joint notice prohibiting companies from supporting cryptocurrency-related businesses. This was announced by journalist Colin Wu.

The document referred to by Wu is signed by the China Banking Association, the Internet Finance Association and the Payment Clearing Association. They recommended that citizens refrain from investing in cryptocurrencies and reminded that such operations are not protected by law.

“Digital currency is a special virtual commodity that is not associated with monetary authorities. It has no monetary properties and is not real currency. It is prohibited to use it as a medium of exchange on the market, ”the notice says.

The measure is aimed at reducing the risks of speculation with cryptocurrency. The companies were required to stop any activity related to digital assets and break off cooperation with specialized players. In particular, Internet platforms were banned from displaying relevant advertisements.

The associations will strengthen their oversight of market participants. Violators will be sanctioned.

After announcing plans to accept payment for Tesla's cars in bitcoin back in February, Tesla CEO Elon Musk has just announced via tweet that the company will suspend bitcoin payments over concerns about the environment.

First steps followed.

All working fine

Cryptocurrency has hit a significant milestone: It’s now worth more than all US dollars currently in circulation.

Cryptocurrencies hit a valuation of $2 trillion on April 29, according to The Wall Street Journal. That’s about the same valuation as all US dollars in circulation. However, it has since hit as high as $2.25 trillion — and in the process actually exceeding dollars in circulation.