By FintechNews staff
-Norway is considering backing a European Bitcoin mining ban, as reported by Euronews Next. The country’s minister of local government and regional development Bjørn Arild Gram said the government is looking into a proposal put out by some Swedish regulators that urged Europe to ban energy-intensive proof-of-work crypto mining activities.
Gram told local media the Scandinavian nation is considering potential policy measures to “address the challenges related to crypto mining” and that it’s “difficult to justify the extensive use of renewable energy today.” “Although crypto mining and its underlying technology might represent some possible benefits in the long run, it is difficult to justify the extensive use of renewable energy today.”
-Gram said the government is looking into a proposal put out by some Swedish regulators that urged Europe to ban energy-intensive proof-of-work crypto mining activities.
—Sweden, Norway and Iceland are becoming increasingly popular as a place to mine crypto, particularly amid the Chinese mining exodus. They have a lot of energy resources and are great for any minor who wants to use renewable energy for the same.
-Their electricity rates are also very cheap, which makes the mining business more sustainable. According to Eurostat data for the first half of 2021, Norway offered the cheapest electricity for non-household consumers in the European Economic Area (EEA), with over 90% of its energy coming from hydroelectric power generation.
-And this might be the reason that the government is not happy that the renewable energy they are producing is going towards mining crypto. One of the ministers said that they want the electricity to be used in something that produces value and supports the transition to a better environment.
