Bitmain Crypto Mining Fined IDR 54.1 Billion By Beijing Tax Authority

Bitmain Technologies was fined around 25 million Chinese yuan (IDR 54.1 billion). (photo: twitter @BITMAINtech)

JAKARTA - Beijing-based cryptocurrency mining firm Bitmain is reported to have violated tax regulations in China, so local authorities gave a large fine.

Bitmain Technologies has been fined around 25 million Chinese yuan (IDR 54.1 billion) by the Beijing State Administration Tax Office, local news agency Sina Finance reported on April 11.

Based on data from the registration of Chinese private and public companies, Qichacha, Bitmain was fined on April 4, 2023, on charges of failing to pay a personal income tax in accordance with Chinese law on tax collection administration. The statement specifically refers to tax-related violations of income from salaries, bonuses, labor dividends, allowances, and others received by Bitmain employees.

The tax authority also said that tax inspectors had notified Bitmain of certain tax violations in August 2022. To date, Beijing's Bitmain unit has not paid a personal income tax of 16.6 million yuan, or IDR 35.9 billion.

Founded in 2013, Bitmain is one of the largest cryptocurrency mining companies in the world, widely known for producing hardware and special solutions for crypto mining. The company was reportedly forced to halt its business in China in October 2021 in response to the cryptocurrency ban imposed by the Chinese government in September 2021.

It is not clear how the company has been running its operations since then. Bitmain has not immediately responded to a request for comment from Cointelegraph.

Despite the sluggish regulatory uncertainty and the crypto market in 2022, Bitmain's business continues to be successful. In December 2022, Bitmain's latest Antminer device reportedly sold out in less than a minute despite declining mining profitability.

In September 2022, Bitmain founder Jihan Wu formed a $250 million fund to support the mining industry affected by the prolonged cryptocurrency winter. After leaving Bitmain in 2021, Wu founded Bitdeer, a new crypto mining company that is a spin-off of Bitmain.