China’s Hebei province to clamp down on cryptocurrency mining and trading

SHANGHAI (Reuters) - The cyberspace commission in China’s northern Hebei province said it will cooperate with other government departments to crack down on virtual currency mining and trading, the latest move in the country's cryptocurrency crackdown.

The province’s educational department, public security department, local financial regulatory bureau, and communications administration will also participate in the crackdown, the commission's statement said.

"Cryptocurrency mining consumes an enormous amount of energy, which is against China's 'carbon neutral' goal," the statement said, adding that it also carries huge financial risks.

In May, China's State Council, or cabinet, vowed to crack down on bitcoin mining and trading, escalating a campaign against cryptocurrencies days after three industry bodies banned crypto-related financial and payment services.

The commission said that before Sept. 30, those departments should check the information systems they are using, to avoid the use of any computing power to engage in the illegal mining of virtual currencies.

It added that they should step up the collection of information from whistleblowers and the general public. From October it will regularly monitor the sector and punish those who flout the rules.

(Reporting by Jason Xue and Andrew Galbraith; Editing by Louise Heavens)