The Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba will stop selling cryptocurrency equipment on October 8th. The move by China’s biggest online retailer could be the final nail in Bitcoin’s coffin.
The recent ban by Beijing on Bitcoin led to Alibaba’s sudden announcement. The People’s Bank of China made all crypto-related business activities illegal. So, Alibaba confirmed that it wouldn’t stock crypto mining equipment on its platforms.
“Alibaba.com will prohibit the sale of virtual currency miners. It follows the prohibition against selling virtual currencies such as Bitcoin. The ban includes hardware and software used to get virtual currencies such as miners.”
Alibaba
Besides, the advisory made it clear that it won’t deal in any crypto-related products. This includes tutorials, strategies and software related to virtual currencies.
The announcement by the People’s Bank of China and Alibaba has seen Bitcoin trading at US$ 42,000. This is a sharp fall from a nudging all-time high of US$ 64,000.
China’s crypto crackdown
Bitcoin has been an alternative currency since 2009, but it’s been on shaky ground ever since. In May 2021, the Chinese government announced plans to regulate Crypto mining operations. They cited concerns over financial stability as a major reason for the regulations.
But, a deep analysis reveals that the measures aren’t about cushioning financial risk.
The finance and banking observers issued warnings against any crypto-related transactions. They also guide that financial institutions should steer clear of providing crypto-related services.
Bitcoin mining is a process that uses computers to solve complex math problems. And, the more tasks they have in this way-the faster their processor will run. This eats up excessive electric power. The power draw for Bitcoin machines brings concerns over its environmental impact.
China’s carbon release is forecast to grow by almost 100 million metric tons this year alone. And, it is already the world’s largest producer of greenhouse gases.
A recent study indicates that China might produce 130M tons of carbon by 2024. This is despite the implementation and enforcement of regulations.
That’s more than the total annual carbon release output from Qatar and the Czech republic in 2016. Thus, it’s a serious problem for their ambitious climate plans.
China pledged to make its country carbon neutral by 2060. Yet, they are already struggling with the other industries’ released emissions. But because China wants a green future for humanity, they are shutting down cryptocurrency.