Alibaba says it will block sales of cryptocurrency mining equipment starting next month

Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba said Monday that, beginning on October 8, it will halt the sales of cryptocurrency mining equipment on its platform.

Per a rule announcement, Alibaba cited recent pronouncements from China's central bank and other oversight bodies in the country that amounted to a renewed crackdown on cryptocurrency activities. 

Alibaba said in the notice:

"[A]fter thorough evaluation, taking into account the instability of laws and regulations on virtual currencies and relevant products in various international markets, Alibaba.com will prohibit the sale of virtual currency miners in addition to the prohibition against selling virtual currencies such as Bitcoin, Litecoin, BeaoCoin, QuarkCoin, and Ethereum, which include but are not limited to: 1) Hardware and software used to obtain virtual currencies such as Bitcoin miners ; 2) Tutorials, strategies, and software for obtaining virtual currencies such as tutorials on mining."

Alibaba also said that it would close two sales categories related to mining.

China's crackdown on mining began in earnest earlier this year, resulting in the exit of some mining firms from the country. The lockout appears to be accelerating quickly, as shown by developments like the service shutdown of Hangzhou-based Sparkpool, an Ethereum mining pool company. 

Exchanges like Huobi and Binance have also moved to restrict service access in the wake of the Chinese regulatory moves. 

Hat tip @kevinsekniqi