One of 2021âs biggest stories was the China ban on Bitcoin mining. On one hand, the news did affect Bitcoinâs price and gave ammunition to the naysayers that think that governments will outlaw Bitcoin. On the other, the network kept working without a hiccup, recovered its hashrate in record time, and gained in decentralization. However, a question remains. Why did China exclude itself from this very lucrative activity in which they were dominating? As Bitcoin entrepreneur John Carvalho not-so-eloquently put it, âI refuse to believe that China is stupid.â There has to be a reason, even if itâs a simple one. To help our audience solve the puzzle, NewsBTC decided to gather all of our theories in a single post. China Ban Theory #1: The Digital Yuan CBDC This one is as straightforward as it gets. When China started cracking down on miners, NewsBTC reported: âAs for the possible reasons, Bitcoin Magazineâs Lucas Nuzzi cites the upcoming Digital Yuan CBDC.â And Nuzzi said, âTheyâre literally rolling out their own coin (a CBDC) that will enable the mass surveillance and unbanking of dissidents.â 1/ The CCP officially banning #Bitcoin should come as no surprise. They're literally rolling out their own coin (a CBDC) that will enable the mass surveillance and unbanking of dissidents.#Bitcoin is at complete odds with that. Dictatorships don't like freedom money. â Lucas Nuzzi (@LucasNuzzi) June 21, 2021 So, did China kill a potential billion-dollar industry just to squash their CBDCâs competition? Is that it? China Ban Theory #2: Blackouts Is China having energy issues? In that same article, we posed another theory: âIn retrospect, we shouldâve seen it coming. Only two months ago, following a suspicious blackout, NewsBTC reported: According to the Beijing Economic and Information Bureau, there were concerns about the energy consumption related to these activities. PengPai quotes Yu Jianing, rotating Chairman of the Blockchain Special Committee of China, to claim that the countryâs environmental requirements could lead to crypto mining being more âstrictly regulatedâ. Jianing said this will be âinevitable.â However, would they be decommissioning small hydropower stations if this was the case? China Ban Theory #3: Cleaner Energy Sources Our report on small hydropower stationsâ source was government-regulated media, so take it with a grain of salt. It starts with a claim that clashes heavily with theory #2: âAccording to the article, the heyday of private power plants in China was the beginning of the century. Investors built thousands of hydropower stations because they saw them as a constant cash cow. For their part, the regions nearby saw them as a sign of progress and a solution to their energy problems. However, with the gradual surplus of electricity in China in recent years, the electricity generated by hydropower stations is often destined to being abandoned (commonly known as âabandonment of electricityâ)â Nevertheless, the main reason for the decommissioning seemed to be repairing the original flow of the rivers. âHydropower stations have always been one of the important factors restricting the ecology of Sichuanâs rivers,â said Wang Hua, deputy director of the Sichuan Provincial Water Resources Department. We went a step further: âItâs possible that the government is trying to get rid of those plants. That would explain the articleâs tone, it seems like it was trying to get investors to stay away from those hydropower stations. In light of this, Chinaâs ban on Bitcoin mining could just be part of an even bigger play. Theyâre serious and methodically shaking things up over there. What could be their end-game? Is China just trying to go carbon neutral and repair the original flow of the rivers? Or is there something else at play here?â However, something doesnât add up. In another article about the ban, we highlighted that hydropower energy is clean energy. âDid China make the mistake of a lifetime by banning Bitcoin mining or do they have a secret plan? The fact that the electricity for crypto mining in Sichuan came from clean hydropower meant that many thought the province would be a safe haven for Bitcoin miners.â China Ban Theory #4: The New China Model We explored Bloombergâs theory about a âless founder-driven and more China-centricâ model that China was supposedly exploring. âIf China is abandoning the Silicon Valley model, what will it replace it with? Insiders suggest it will be less founder-driven and more China-centric. Why is China dwarfing its biggest industries and players? Is the âChina Modelâ just concerned with scale? Or is control their focus? Are they cracking down on people and companies with too much power that work on a global scale?â And even though it wasnât quite believable, it introduced the concept that China was also cracking down on their biggest tech executives. Maybe this isnât only about Bitcoin? BTC price chart for 01/02/2022 on Bitrex | Source: BTC/USD on TradingView.com China Ban Theory #5: Making Bitcoin Hard To Use This one doesnât explain the overarching theme of the China ban. It does add color to whatever theory you prefer, though. In an event, Yin Youping, Deputy Director of the Financial Consumer Rights Protection Bureau of the Peopleâs Bank of China, said, âWe remind the people once again that virtual currencies such as Bitcoin are not legal tender and have no actual value support.â And proceeded to list everything the PBOC was doing to combat cryptocurrency trading. In the NewsBTC report about it, we said: âMaybe their plan is simpler than we thought. Itâs possible that The Peopleâs Bank of China is just going to make it really really hard for the common citizen to access Bitcoin. And, Chinaâll use propaganda and repetition to keep people in check and scared of the unknown. One of Bitcoinâs prototipical adversarial scenarios. A battle that Bitcoin expected sooner or later.â China Ban Theory #6: Preparing For Evergrandeâs Default Was the Chinese government just closing the exits? They knew that the Evergrande situation was inevitable and didnât want people to have the Bitcoin lifeboat available. In our report, we said: âTo recap: the government saw this coming from a distance. They knew the crisis was going to repeatedly hit the country and banned Bitcoin mining to scare the population into not buying the hardest asset ever created. Bitcoin, the true hedge against the collapse of every economy.â China Ban Theory #7: FUD To Get More Bitcoin According to John Carvalhoâs wild and full of assumptions theory, China bans something related to Bitcoin every cycle to manipulate the price and get more BTC. The country has no incentive to ban the industry. They make too much money mining, plus they control the ASICs manufacturers, plus mining machines inflate the value of chips, and they control that business too. So, Carvalhoâs theory is: âThe main ASIC manufacturer, the Chinese company Bitmain, had a new generation of miners ready. So, the CCP âdecided to create a demand for the aftermaket and combine it with the FUD.â As they usually do, they sold their Bitcoin and made their shorts. Then, China banned Bitcoin mining and the whole country turned off the ASICs. The world perceived the ban as real, just âlook at the hashrate.â This is the first time this happens. Then, China sold a small portion of its ASICs to the USA.â According to him, Bitcoin mining in China didnât stop, theyâre just not signing the blocks. Of course, he doesnât have any proof, and neither do we. This is just a theory, like all the others. Whatâs really going on in China? Whatâs the reason behind the great China ban of 2021? We wouldnât know for sure, but we have many suspicions. Letâs hope 2022 gives us solid evidence, new insights, or, at least, a plausible explanation. Featured Image by PublicDomainPictures on Pixabay | Charts by TradingView