Exclusive: US regulators are in China for audit deal talks
Chinese and US flags flutter outside the building of an American company in Beijing, China January 21, 2021. REUTERS / Tingshu Wang
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HONG KONG, May 6 (Reuters) – US regulatory officials have arrived in Beijing seeking to settle a long-running dispute over the auditing compliance of US-listed Chinese firms, three people familiar with the matter told Reuters.
The stand-off, if not resolved, could see Chinese firms kicked off New York bourses. This week the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) added over 80 firms, including e-commerce giant JD.com (9618.HK) and China Petroleum & Chemical Corp. (600028.SS) to the list of companies facing possible expulsion. read more
The talks between officials from the US Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) and their counterparts at the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) can be described as a ‘late stage’ after China made concessions in recent months, people said.
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The PCAOB officials are expected to exit quarantine and start working next week, one of the people said. If this visit proceeds as expected, the PCAOB is likely to send a larger team to China later this year to conduct on-site inspections of local auditors, the person said.
The PCAOB sent representatives to China for face-to-face negotiations earlier this year, said two of the people.
The sources declined to be identified due to the sensitivity of the issue. The CSRC did not directly address Reuters queries about the arrival of PCAOB officials or the status of discussions.
The PCAOB did not respond to requests for comment prior to the original publication of this story on Friday.
Later a spokesman for the agency said in an email: “Recent reports that PCAOB officials are currently in China, or that PCAOB officials were in China earlier this year to conduct face-to-face negotiations, are untrue. The PCAOB has not sent any personnel to China since 2017. “
He added that the agency continues to engage with the Chinese authorities but “speculation about a final agreement remains premature.” As a result, the PCAOB is planning “for various scenarios,” the spokesman said.
Authorities in China have long been reluctant to let overseas regulators inspect local accounting firms, citing national security concerns.
But in a key concession, Chinese regulators last month proposed revising confidentiality rules for offshore listings and scrapping requirements that on-site inspections of overseas-listed Chinese firms were conducted mainly by domestic regulators. read more
Separate sources also said last month that a preliminary framework for audit supervision cooperation between the two countries has been formed. read more
The spat over audit oversight of New York-listed Chinese companies has been simmering for more than a decade but it came to a head last December when the SEC finalized rules to delist Chinese companies under the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act. It said there were 273 companies at risk but did not name them.
As of Friday, the PCAOB has identified 128 Chinese firms as at risk of being delisted.
The issue has been a major factor dragging on American depositary receipts (ADRs) issued by Chinese firms, with the Nasdaq Golden Dragon China Index tumbling 57% over the past 12 months.
Goldman Sachs estimated in March that US institutional investors held around $ 200 billion worth of Chinese ADRs.
In addition to the concessions by Chinese regulators, there have been other signs that a deal is in the offing.
In late March, sources said the CSRC asked some of the country’s US-listed firms, including Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (9988.HK), Baidu Inc (9888.HK) and JD.com, to prepare for more audit disclosures. Late last month, Fang Xinghai, the CSRC’s vice chairman said he expected a deal in the near future.
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Reporting by Xie Yu; Additional reporting by Katanga Johnson in Washington, Selena Li in Hong Kong and Jing Xu in Beijing; Editing by Edwina Gibbs
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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Rallying Against New York Bitcoin Mining Moratorium
“This (Bitcoin) isn’t going to stop. Crypto mining may move somewhere where there is little or no concern for the environment. ” –Ken Pokalsky, Vice-President of The Business Council of New York State
Pokalsky’s words echoed the sentiments of the half-dozen speakers assembled at the New York State Capitol in Albany on May 2, 2022. Gathered on the Capitol’s famed “Million Dollar Staircase” were state legislators, Bitcoin industry leaders and advocates for technology jobs. The occasion was to urge Governor Kathy Hochul and the State Senate to oppose a two-year moratorium on proof-of-work mining. The bill has already passed the State Assembly.
The bill that passed the Assembly would impose a two-year ban on proof-of-work mining unless done with 100% renewable energy sources. Though much mining in the state is done with hydroelectric power, the ban would effectively shut down many mining facilities, including the Greenidge facility on Seneca Lake. Greenidge uses an older gas-fired plant to do its mining.
Both houses of the legislature and the governor’s chair are controlled by Democrats, so the environment is surely one of their biggest concerns.
The event was organized by Foundry Services of Rochester, New York. Foundry is a Digital Currency Group company, focused on mining, equipment sales, financing and staking services. The press conference, hailed by organizers as a “rally / protest,” drew only a couple of dozen supporters and a few legislators. The event was moderated by Cleve Mesidor, executive director of the Blockchain Foundation.
Assembly Member Clyde Vanel, representing the 33rd District in Queens, stated that while his party cares about the environment, they also care about jobs and good salaries. It was a theme touched on by many of the speakers.
State Senator Jeremy Cooney, representing the 56th District in Rochester, focused on how legacy financial institutions have long excluded people of color. “Financial inclusion should not be restricted by one’s zip code,” Cooney said. And an even more powerful statement from the senator, “We can’t stop the conversation with a moratorium.”
Pokalsky, quoted above, also focused on the fact that the New York State has struggled to keep up with the nation in terms of job growth. The jobs theme was echoed by Assembly Member Addie Jenne, who also happens to be a regulatory counsel for the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers union. Jenne said, “New York should not squander the opportunity to lead the nation in innovation.”
Adrian Hale, the director of economic and community development for Foundry, was probably the most powerful speaker at the event. Hale, previously with the Rochester Chamber of Commerce, pointed out that the city is the third-poorest city in the nation. He referenced the New York State “BitLicense”As an impediment to doing business in the state, and as especially hurting opportunities for Blacks and Latinos. He pointed out that there are very few other opportunities for minorities to earn “generational wealth.”
Hale pointed out that Rochester’s Bitcoin community is adopting the already-used slogan for employment fair opportunities, “ROC the block,” to reference local employment by blockchain companies.
The event had an interesting tone to it, as all of the legislative reps on hand were Democrats and most attendees were people of color. This was a point stressed by Jenne, who touted the diversity of the effort. The rally was promoted and attended by the Harlem Bitcoin Community as well. Bitcoin is generally thought of as a right-wing endeavor, but you wouldn’t have known it from this rally.
Hale stated that the goal of nearly everyone involved in the Bitcoin space was “a smart, equitable regulatory framework.”
The bill now moves on to the New York State Senate.

(Source)
This is a guest post by Rick Mulvey. Opinions expressed are entirely their own and do not necessarily reflect those of BTC Inc. or Bitcoin Magazine.
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Report on publicly listed mining firms
The Cointelegraph Research Terminal, the leading provider of premium databases and institutional-grade research on blockchain and digital assets, has added a new report to its expanding library. The latest paper looks at a particular group of players in the Bitcoin (BTC) mining industry. Published by crypto consulting firm Crypto Oxygen, the report highlights the current landscape of publicly listed crypto mining companies that control approximately 17% of the total hash rate of the entire Bitcoin network.
The crypto mining industry is a rapidly growing and evolving sector. In January this year, a United States-based company Core Scientific went public via a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) merger, making it the largest publicly traded crypto mining company in revenue and hash rate. Core Scientific’s hash rate leads all public companies with 8.3 exahashes per second (Eh / s), and it mined 5,769 BTC in 2021, generating about $ 545 million in revenue. Coming in second and third in terms of revenue are Riot Blockchain and Hive Blockchain Technologies, earning $ 215 million and $ 195 million, respectively.
Strategic, operational and financial breakdown
Hash rate and revenue are just a few ways to distinguish between companies, but they don’t paint the whole picture since some firms have revenue models separate from their core mining activity. The report dissects such key stats and offers a more detailed comparison, encompassing each company’s strategic, operational and financial performance.
Download the full report, complete with charts and infographics from the Cointelegraph Research Terminal
For instance, the report compares each company’s operations via the current hash rate per US dollar invested. This way, it becomes easier to see which company offers more investment value to investors, which, in this metric’s case, is Stronghold Digital Mining with 46.56 gigahashes per second (GH / s) to lead the pack.
Aside from this, the report also provides a quick snapshot of each company’s operations, including each one’s operational key performance indicators (KPIs,) business model, data center locations, BTC holdings and other pertinent information.

Specifically, major players like Marathon have lean setups and rely entirely on being hosted by external providers, while others like Stronghold own assets along with the full value chain, including the electrical infrastructure.
Rather than just depending solely on financial reports and public statements, Crypto Oxygen has also further conducted a survey to include direct feedback from the analyzed companies in its research.
Sustainability
A major concern of Bitcoin mining, in general, pertains to Environment, Social and Governance, or ESG. Sustainability has always been a central talking point concerning the crypto mining industry, and publicly listed companies are particularly subject to increased scrutiny. Yet, there seems to be a focus among the companies in the report on limiting the carbon footprint of their operations, despite the differences in approaches.
Out of the 12 companies, eight are already carbon neutral or environmentally beneficial operations. Bitfarms, Hive, Iris Energy and Argo are four companies that rely exclusively on renewable energy sources. Northern Data, Core Scientific and Greenidge Generation use offset credits to reduce their carbon footprint. Marathon Digital Holdings and Hut 8 Mining are also already using carbon offset credits and target to be carbon neutral by the end of 2022, while 67% of Bit Digital’s energy source is from renewables.
Indirect exposure
Investing in public crypto mining firms offers investors exposure in the crypto space, albeit not as direct as holding Bitcoin. The correlation between the mining companies’ stock prices to the price of BTC is underscored in the report, and the recent drop in the price of BTC exhibits that. It also shows that more significant BTC holdings tend to be a key driver in the downturn.
Yet, the mining firms’ stock prices have declined disproportionately. What the 46-page report delivers is an analysis of each public mining firm’s performance and presents a detailed comparison of each one to help bring more clarity to the players involved in the developing space and the industry in general. For those interested in reading the full report, download it by visiting the Cointelegraph Research Terminal.
This article is for information purposes only and represents neither investment advice nor an investment analysis or an invitation to buy or sell financial instruments. Specifically, the document does not serve as a substitute for individual investment or other advice.
Workers have been enjoying fatter paychecks. A slowdown may be ahead
Bymuratdeniz | E + | Getty Images
Workers continue to see pay increases at a fast clip, but there are signs of a slowdown ahead.
Average earnings for all workers grew by 0.3% in April, to $ 31.85 an hour, the Labor Department said Friday.
That’s a modest reduction from the 0.4% pace in March. It also amounts to a 3.8% increase in pay on an annualized basis, according to an analysis by Harvard University economists Jason Furman and Wilson Powell III. (The analysis adjusts for the types of jobs workers hold.)
“This is considerably slower than the pace of nominal wage growth in 2021 and, if it holds up, would indicate that labor markets may be considerably cooler than previously appreciated,” they wrote.
Wages in the private sector grew at a 3.7% annualized pace in April – a slowdown from recent months and the slowest in a year, Furman and Powell III said.
Workers have been enjoying fatter paychecks as demand for their labor has surged to historical levels during the pandemic recovery.
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Job openings and voluntary departures (or, quits) by workers hit records in March, the Labor Department reported Tuesday. There were nearly two jobs available for every unemployed individual in March, a ratio unseen in the modern era, Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell said Wednesday.
To fill vacancies, businesses have raised wages at the fastest clip in “many decades,” Powell said.
“It’s a good time to be a worker looking to either change jobs or get a wage increase in your current job,” the Fed chairman said.
Despite signs of a pullback, wage growth is still elevated. Hourly pay in April was up 5.5% versus April 2021, the Labor Department said Friday, whereas the pace was roughly 3% before the Covid-19 pandemic.
“It seems clear wage growth is slowing down. But will it stabilize at a higher level?” said Daniel Zhao, a senior economist at the Glassdoor career site.
Wage gains for rank-and-file workers have decelerated across most industries, Zhao said.
Many workers, with some exceptionsaren’t keeping up with the pace of inflation despite banner gains.
Consumer prices are rising at their fastest pace in about 40 years, the result of factors like rapid economic reopening, federal Covid-relief funds, war in Ukraine and ongoing pandemic-related challenges like lockdowns in China.
The Federal Reserve is raising interest rates with an eye to cool the economy and inflation. The policy is designed to rein in a scorching job market, bringing labor supply (workers) more in line with demand (from employers) and likely cooling wage growth in the process.
Otherwise, continuously high wage growth could cause a “wage-price spiral,” a cycle whereby fatter paychecks fuel higher prices and high inflation gets entrenched.
Fed officials are trying to calibrate their policy so the labor market is healthy and the US economy doesn’t tip into a recession – an outcome that will be challenging but one officials have a good chance of achieving, Powell said.
“Certainly nobody wants to hear they should get a smaller raise to tackle inflation,” Zhao said. “But in practice if you can get to a world where wage growth is more stable and inflation more stable at a lower level, that would be a healthier economy.”
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