The fate of the cryptocurrency market is in question - more and more countries prohibit Bitcoin mining due to problems with electricity
Cryptocurrency is going through difficult times. This applies to both Bitcoin and other tokens. 2022 started with sharp drop exchange rate of all coins against the backdrop of events in Kazakhstan and actions of the US Federal Reserve. Some countries have begun to ban cryptocurrency mining due to a sharp increase in electricity consumption.
In 2021, China completely banned the mining of digital coins, in connection with which the miners went to other countries. In particular, to Georgia, Kosovo, Iran, some EU countries and the already mentioned Kazakhstan. But even there they ran into problems.
Cryptocurrency mining led to blackouts, which the local authorities firmly decided to fight. For example, the government of Kosovo, where digital coin seekers were led by low electricity rates, decided not to raise prices for miners. This is due to the fact that the vast majority use illegal connections and do not pay for electricity. In this regard, the authorities simply banned the mining of cryptocurrency in the country from December 31, 2021.
Iran temporarily banned cryptocurrency mining in the summer of 2021 due to overloads of power plants. Until the end of last month, a 4-month moratorium on BTC mining was in effect in the capital, but then the authorities introduced new restrictions.
Even Iceland began to suffer from power outages, despite the cheap geothermal energy. This is due to the fact that there miners have major competitors in the face of data centers and aluminum producers. For this reason, since December 7 last year, Iceland has not been supplying electricity to new mining companies.
Mining was banned in Abkhazia, where electricity consumption increased by 20% in 2020. More than 600 mining farms operated in a region with a population of 250,000 people. The police almost break into people's houses, because. many residents of the region mine cryptocurrency right in the kitchen.
In the near future, Sweden may ban the mining of digital currencies. The authorities of the country sent corresponding letters to the regulatory authorities. Moreover, the Swedes want to achieve a ban on cryptocurrency mining in all countries of the European Union.
Finally, the fate of mining is in question even in the United States. So far, there have been no bans, but the power grids in Texas and Kentucky have already demonstrated their inability to provide power to everyone during peak load.
A source: Fortune