By Dhirendra Tripathi
Investing.com -- Shares of Coinbase (NASDAQ:COIN) were down nearly 3% in Monday’s premarket trading after more than 90% of China’s Bitcoin mining capacity came to an abrupt halt over the weekend
According to the state backed Global Times newspaper, many Bitcoin mines in Southwest China's Sichuan Province - one of China's largest cryptocurrency mining bases - were closed amid an intensifying nationwide crackdown against cryptocurrency mining.
Sichuan is China's second-biggest bitcoin mining province and the country accounts for more than half of global bitcoin production.
Bitcoin extended its weekend losses and was down 8% to trade around $32,500-levels. Ethereum ETH/USD and Dogecoin DOGE/USD were also down 8% each. Polkadot pDOTn/USD shed 12%.
The Sichuan Provincial Development and Reform Commission, and the Sichuan Energy Bureau issued a joint notice Friday demanding the closure of 26 suspected cryptocurrency mining projects by Sunday, Reuters said.
The notice ordered state electricity companies in Sichuan to conduct inspections and make corrections. They are to immediately stop supplying electricity to cryptomining projects they have detected.
Some industry players had hoped that regulators in Sichuan, where hydropower is abundant, could take a softer approach. But the latest ban underscores Chinese regulators' determination to curb speculative crypto trading to control financial risks, Global Times said.