中国采取行动清退比特币挖矿企业
中国正采取行动取缔国内比特币挖矿产业，原因是担忧过高的电力消耗和金融风险，此举反映了当局对于加密货币并非战略产业的判断。
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.
根据英国《金融时报》看到的一份文件，一个跨部门领导小组指示省级政府“积极引导”辖内企业退出加密货币挖矿产业。在对挖矿人施加压力之前，中国已经关闭了国内比特币交易所、并禁止首次代币发行(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.
挖矿人通过求解复杂的数学问题(其答案被用来验证新比特币交易)来创造新的比特币。尽管表面上是一个计算任务，但对原始计算能力的依赖使得这个过程更像工业制造，而非传统的高科技业务。
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.
许多比特币挖矿人已在偏远地区建立业务，甚至没有注册成立公司。一些挖矿人还与中国的法规打擦边球，这些法规禁止最终用户直接向发电企业(而不是电网运营商)购买电力。
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.
据深圳挖矿公司Lightningasic首席执行官廖翔介绍，中国挖矿生产的比特币占世界总产量四分之三。中国挖矿人充分利用了煤电或水电资源丰富地区的廉价电力，包括新疆、内蒙古、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.
跟踪行业动态的网站Digiconomist的数据显示，全球而言，挖矿产业占电力消耗总量的0.17%，超过161个国家。
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.
中国政府正利用国家投资和一系列产业政策，争取在人工智能和机器人等战略技术领域占据全球领先地位。但对比特币挖矿人的打压反映了这样一个判断，即加密货币不配得到国家支持。
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.
上述文件称，比特币挖矿产业“在消耗大量资源的同时也助长了‘虚拟货币’投机炒作之风”。文件补充称，挖矿业务与官方努力背道而驰;官方有意防范金融风险，抑制“偏离实体经济需要”的活动。
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.
由中国人民银行(PBoC)领导的互联网金融风险专项整治办工作领导小组，以往曾领导对P2P贷款和在线消费贷款收紧监管。
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.
该命令并没有要求地方政府直接关闭挖矿业务，而是通过严格执行有关用电、用地、税收和环保等方面的政策，把它们排挤出局。中国央行没有回应记者的置评请求。
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.
中国挖矿人正在想方设法把业务转移到国外——通过实际迁厂或者出售自己的专长。廉价电力和低温气候(这有助于防止电脑过热)是主要的要求。加拿大、冰岛、东欧和俄罗斯被视为最有希望的目的地。
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.
业内参与者表示，中国反正也从来不是特别适合挖矿的地点，即使在考虑到某些地区的电费成本低于全国平均水平之后也是如此。中国目前的霸主地位主要是由于拥有挖矿过程所用的电脑组件的发达供应链。
“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.”
“困难在于，在其他国家建立业务需要时间和资本以构建大型数据中心，”Lightningasic的廖翔表示。“这需要大量电力。典型的工业园区不符合要求。”
