So what's stopping china from banning bitcoin mining?

[islafilipina]

1. electricity
2. clamping down on perceived risks of the cryptocurrency

[jemma]

I think it boils down to one word "REGULATION". The Chinese is only regulating bitcoin exchanges to rein in excesses but at the same time leaving bitcoin mining for its citizens for other source of income cognizant of the fact that it the largest mining farm world over.

[BrewMaster]

crippling a large number of people and businesses including government employees. the bitcoin mining in China is currently feeding lots of people with the jobs it has created and bribes they are giving. it can not be simply shut down.

besides nothing is stopping all these big mining farms to migrate to another country and take their business and all the money they are creating for the people to that country and help them instead! the mining farms certainly have the money for it.
on top of that the mining "pools" are already outside of country on servers around the world so there is nothing the Chinese government can do there anyways!