中國采取行動清退比特幣挖礦企業(yè)

China is moving to eradicate the country’s bitcoin mining industry over concerns about excessive electricity consumption and financial risk, reflecting authorities’ judgment that cryptocurrencies are not a strategic industry.

中國正采取行動取締國內(nèi)比特幣挖礦產(chǎn)業(yè)，原因是擔(dān)憂過高的電力消耗和金融風(fēng)險(xiǎn)，此舉反映了當(dāng)局對于加密貨幣并非戰(zhàn)略產(chǎn)業(yè)的判斷。

A multi-agency task force has instructed provincial governments to “actively guide” companies in their respective regions to exit the cryptocurrency mining industry, according to a document seen by the Financial Times. The move to pressure miners follows China’s shutdown of local bitcoin exchanges and its ban on initial coin offerings.

根據(jù)英國《金融時(shí)報(bào)》看到的一份文件，一個(gè)跨部門領(lǐng)導(dǎo)小組指示省級政府“積極引導(dǎo)”轄內(nèi)企業(yè)退出加密貨幣挖礦產(chǎn)業(yè)。在對挖礦人施加壓力之前，中國已經(jīng)關(guān)閉了國內(nèi)比特幣交易所、并禁止首次代幣發(fā)行(ICO)。

Miners create new bitcoins by solving complex maths problems whose solutions are used to validate new bitcoin transactions. Though ostensibly a computational task, the reliance on raw computing power makes the process more akin to industrial manufacturing than traditional high-technology businesses.

挖礦人通過求解復(fù)雜的數(shù)學(xué)問題(其答案被用來驗(yàn)證新比特幣交易)來創(chuàng)造新的比特幣。盡管表面上是一個(gè)計(jì)算任務(wù)，但對原始計(jì)算能力的依賴使得這個(gè)過程更像工業(yè)制造，而非傳統(tǒng)的高科技業(yè)務(wù)。

Many bitcoin miners have established operations in remote areas without even registering a company. Some miners have also skirted Chinese regulations that forbid end users from purchasing electricity directly from power producers rather than grid operators.

許多比特幣挖礦人已在偏遠(yuǎn)地區(qū)建立業(yè)務(wù)，甚至沒有注冊成立公司。一些挖礦人還與中國的法規(guī)打擦邊球，這些法規(guī)禁止最終用戶直接向發(fā)電企業(yè)(而不是電網(wǎng)運(yùn)營商)購買電力。

China mines about three-quarters of the world’s bitcoins, according to Liao Xiang, chief executive of Lightningasic, a Shenzhen-based mining operation. Chinese miners have taken advantage of cheap electricity in regions rich in coal or hydroelectric power, including Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia, Sichuan and Yunnan.

據(jù)深圳挖礦公司Lightningasic首席執(zhí)行官廖翔介紹，中國挖礦生產(chǎn)的比特幣占世界總產(chǎn)量四分之三。中國挖礦人充分利用了煤電或水電資源豐富地區(qū)的廉價(jià)電力，包括新疆、內(nèi)蒙古、四川和云南。

The global industry accounts for 0.17 per cent of global electricity consumption, more than 161 individual countries, according to Digiconomist, a website that tracks the industry.

跟蹤行業(yè)動態(tài)的網(wǎng)站Digiconomist的數(shù)據(jù)顯示，全球而言，挖礦產(chǎn)業(yè)占電力消耗總量的0.17%，超過161個(gè)國家。

China’s government is using state investment and an array of industrial policies in an effort to seize global leadership in strategic technology sectors such as artificial intelligence and robotics. But the crackdown on bitcoin miners reflects a judgment that cryptocurrencies do not merit state support.

中國政府正利用國家投資和一系列產(chǎn)業(yè)政策，爭取在人工智能和機(jī)器人等戰(zhàn)略技術(shù)領(lǐng)域占據(jù)全球領(lǐng)先地位。但對比特幣挖礦人的打壓反映了這樣一個(gè)判斷，即加密貨幣不配得到國家支持。

Bitcoin mining “consumes a large amount of electricity and also encourages a spirit of speculation in ‘virtual currencies’,” according to the document. Mining operations contradict efforts to prevent financial risk and to discourage activities that “deviate from the needs of the real economy”, it added.

上述文件稱，比特幣挖礦產(chǎn)業(yè)“在消耗大量資源的同時(shí)也助長了‘虛擬貨幣’投機(jī)炒作之風(fēng)”。文件補(bǔ)充稱，挖礦業(yè)務(wù)與官方努力背道而馳;官方有意防范金融風(fēng)險(xiǎn)，抑制“偏離實(shí)體經(jīng)濟(jì)需要”的活動。

Led by the People’s Bank of China, the internet-finance task force has previously led regulatory tightening efforts on peer-to-peer lending and online consumer loans.

由中國人民銀行(PBoC)領(lǐng)導(dǎo)的互聯(lián)網(wǎng)金融風(fēng)險(xiǎn)專項(xiàng)整治辦工作領(lǐng)導(dǎo)小組，以往曾領(lǐng)導(dǎo)對P2P貸款和在線消費(fèi)貸款收緊監(jiān)管。

The order does not call on regional authorities to shut down mining operations directly, but rather to squeeze them out by strictly enforcing policies on electricity consumption, land use, tax collection and environmental regulation. The PBoC did not respond to a request for comment.

該命令并沒有要求地方政府直接關(guān)閉挖礦業(yè)務(wù)，而是通過嚴(yán)格執(zhí)行有關(guān)用電、用地、稅收和環(huán)保等方面的政策，把它們排擠出局。中國央行沒有回應(yīng)記者的置評請求。

Chinese miners are now seeking ways to transfer their operations abroad, either by physically moving factories or by selling their expertise. Cheap electricity and a cool climate — which helps prevent computers from overheating — are the main requirements. Canada, Iceland, eastern Europe and Russia are seen as most promising destinations.

中國挖礦人正在想方設(shè)法把業(yè)務(wù)轉(zhuǎn)移到國外——通過實(shí)際遷廠或者出售自己的專長。廉價(jià)電力和低溫氣候(這有助于防止電腦過熱)是主要的要求。加拿大、冰島、東歐和俄羅斯被視為最有希望的目的地。

Industry participants say that China was in any case never an especially suitable location for mining, even after accounting for electricity costs in selected regions that are lower than the national average. China’s current dominance is mainly due to its well-developed supply chains for computer components used in the mining process.

業(yè)內(nèi)參與者表示，中國反正也從來不是特別適合挖礦的地點(diǎn)，即使在考慮到某些地區(qū)的電費(fèi)成本低于全國平均水平之后也是如此。中國目前的霸主地位主要是由于擁有挖礦過程所用的電腦組件的發(fā)達(dá)供應(yīng)鏈。

“The difficulty is that setting up in other countries takes time and capital to build large-scale data centres,” said Mr Liao. “It needs so much electricity. A typical industrial park doesn’t meet the requirements.”

“困難在于，在其他國家建立業(yè)務(wù)需要時(shí)間和資本以構(gòu)建大型數(shù)據(jù)中心，”Lightningasic的廖翔表示。“這需要大量電力。典型的工業(yè)園區(qū)不符合要求。”