From e-commerce to education, China’s season of regulatory crackdown

Provincial governments’ later curbs on bitcoin mining unleashed a wave of shutdowns, with state-linked tabloid Global Times estimating short-term closures of 90%. — Reuters

SHANGHAI: China’s months-long regulatory crackdown on an array of private companies has unsettled tech upstarts as well as decades-old firms, ushering in a new, uncertain environment.

Top antitrust regulator the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) issued sweeping draft rules on Aug 17 governing online competition as the cabinet updated rules for operators of information infrastructure that experts say target data-rich firms.