China’s NDRC to Consider Punitive Electricity Prices for Crypto Mines

China’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) said Tuesday it will consider “punitive electricity prices” for some crypto mines as part of the next stage of its crypto mining crackdown.

• The country’s top economic planning body might implement this measure for companies that mine crypto but only pay residential electricity prices, said NDRC’s Meng Wei in a press conference, according to China.com, a news site run by the State Council Information Office.
• The NDRC will focus on industrial scale mines and state-owned entities that mine crypto, and is calling on local governments to take care of mining within their jurisdictions, Meng said.
• Meng was responding to a question about the elimination of crypto mining in China.
• On Saturday, Xiao Yi, a top Communist Party member from Jiangxi province, was fired and expelled from the party and will likely face criminal charges over his support for crypto mining, the party’s anti-corruption watchdog said.
• The NDRC and other top government agencies called for a renewed crackdown on crypto mining on Sept. 24. Crypto mining was added to a list of industries to be eliminated in early October.

Read more: China Tightens Crypto Mining Crackdown, Bans Trading

UPDATE (Nov. 16, 07:51 UTC): Removes reference to Chengdu province, clarifies question in third bullet.