Cryptocurrency miners to tap Sichuan’s cheap hydropower, as province rallies to answer X…

Cryptocurrency miners could increasingly be drawn to the Chinese province of Sichuan, potentially boosting trading demand for bitcoin from China, as the local government heeds a call by President Xi Jinping to step up blockchain development.

Xi told the Communist Party’s Central Committee last week that China should expedite the development of blockchain technology and actively integrate it into its economy. And over the weekend, Jiang Yang, a former vice-chairman of top regulator China Securities Regulatory Commission, told a town hall meeting in Beijing tasked with steering the strategic development of the province that Sichuan should continue to tap cheap hydropower to support blockchain and digital currency development.

“Sichuan should study further about how the province’s cheap hydropower resources can attract digital currency-related businesses,” he told the conference, as reported by Sichuan Daily.

Cryptocurrency mining is an energy-intensive process and some companies…