Norway considered to support Sweden's demand for a euro ban for crypto-mining Bitcoin messages
Norway considered to support Sweden's demand for a euro ban for crypto-mining Bitcoin messages
The government in Norway is considering limiting the environmental impact of the cryptocurrency mining, and may support Swedish proposals for this purpose, including a European ban on proof-of-work mining. The European Commission has announced that it is already working to promote a transition to "more sustainable" protocols.
comprehensive use of renewable energies for mining is difficult to justify, says the Norwegian minister
The Norwegian authorities consider possible political measures to deal with the effects of crypto mining on the environment, as stated for local government and regional development. As part of the review, the Norwegian government intends to examine solutions that were recently proposed by Swedish regulatory authorities and to work on joint European regulations. In an interview with Euronews Next, Minister Bjørn Arild Gram also explained:
Although crypto mining and the underlying technology could be a few possible advantages in the long run, it is difficult to justify the comprehensive use of renewable energies.
Both countries, together with another Nordic nation, Iceland, have developed into popular destinations for cryptocurrency miners in recent years. The region has plenty of renewable energy resources and has relatively low electricity prices. According to Eurostat data for the first half of 2021, Norway offered the cheapest electricity for non-household consumers in the European Economic Area ( EEP ), with over 90 % of energy from hydropower is.
bjørn Grams statement comes in accordance with the directors of the Swedish financial services and environmental protection authorities required Prohibition of proof-of-work mining in the entire European Union after the energy consumption of Bitcoin miners in the country has increased many times over this year. "Sweden needs the renewable energy, which is sought by the manufacturers of crypto-assets, for the climate change of our essential services, and increasing use by miners endangers our ability to fulfill the Paris Agreement," warned the officials.
"Overall we want our renewable energies to be used in value and support the transition to a climate -neutral society," said Minister Gram. His comments are part of a heated discussion in Norway on the use of renewable energies for digital power supply Coin Minting after Oslo 2016 introduced tax reliefs for data centers. In the past, the country's new Minister of Environment, Espen Barth Eide, has expressed concerns that Norway could become a "world-bitcoin mine" at the expense of its own electricity-intensive industries.
European Commission asks Crypto-Miner to move away from the proof-of-work concept
Regional development minister Bjørn Gram gave no specific information on regulatory policy that the Norwegian government is currently considering. But if Norway decides to step into Sweden's footsteps, this can lead to a passion against crypto mining operations that require considerable amounts of energy.
In the meantime, the European Commission (EC), which would be responsible for enforcing the crypto regulations in the EU, has admitted that it has already encouraged the crypto mining industry to migrate "applications" of energy-intensive proof-of work blockchains on less demanding protocols such as proof-of-stake and hybrid consensus models Euronews Next. A spokesman for the executive organ told the publication that the EK is working on promoting "more sustainable forms of blockchain technologies".The Commission added the representative, had "ambitious emission reduction goals" and promotes the further development of less energy-intensive blockchain technologies by financing start-ups and the direct structure of a blockchain network in the public sector. Although the Paris climate agreement that the Swedish regulatory authorities refer to does not prohibit crypto mining, Brussels are developments in legal systems such as. consciously and will discuss the matter with the EU member states, added the civil servant In addition.
Do you believe that Norway, Sweden and the EU will impose restrictions on the energy-intensive crypto mining? Share your expectations in the comment area below.
Bedy verification : Shutterstock, Pixabay, Wiki Commons