Baisakhi MishraCryptocurrency mining is banned in Kosovo after blackouts. Mining is an energy-intensive process that requires authenticating digital transactions in exchange for cryptocurrency. While the rest of Europe is experiencing steep price increases, Kosovo is enforcing rolling blackouts due to a power outage.
Cryptocurrency mining is banned in Kosovo
Image Source: BBC
Kosova banned cryptocurrency mining as it struggles with an energy crisis caused by soaring global prices. The government says security services will identify and clamp down on cryptocurrency mining sources.
Due to a technical malfunction, the state’s main coal-fired power plant was shut down last month, forcing the government to import electricity at exorbitant prices.
After announcing a 60-day state of emergency in December, the administration was given permission to allocate more money for energy imports and impose stricter curbs on electricity usage.
Protests and requests for Economy Minister Artane Rizvanolli’s resignation have erupted in response to the blackouts.
As economies recover from the Covid-19 outbreak, energy prices are soaring across Europe due to a variety of factors, including low Russian supplies and increased gas consumption.
Geopolitical concerns with Russia, which supplies one-third of Europe’s gas, have fueled the increase. While tensions over the situation in eastern Ukraine have risen, Russia has denied European charges that it has reduced gas deliveries.
Kosovo has been struck harder than others by the energy crisis. Kosovo imports 40% of its energy, according to government figures released last month. Ms. Rizvanolli announced on Tuesday that the administration has decided to prohibit so-called crypto mining to alleviate the effects of the global energy crisis.
Connecting computers – usually specialized “mining equipment” – to the currency network on the internet is required to mine cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin.
Mining machine owners are compensated with newly created currency for contributing computer power for authenticating transactions on that network, making it a potentially lucrative exercise. It does, however, demand a huge amount of computer power, which necessitates a huge amount of electricity.
Until recently, Kosovo had one of Europe’s cheapest electricity bills. Crypto mining became popular among Kosovo’s youth. The practice is most common in Kosovo’s northern regions, where ethnic Serbs refuse to pay their electricity bills because they do not recognize the country’s independence.
China and Iran, for example, restrict cryptocurrency mining due to environmental concerns. After draining the grid of more than 2GW per day, Iran imposed a four-month ban last year.
banned cryptocurrency mining as it struggles with an energy crisis caused by soaring global prices. The government says security services will identify and clamp down on cryptocurrency mining sources.
Due to a technical malfunction, the state’s main coal-fired power plant was shut down last month, forcing the government to import electricity at exorbitant prices.
After announcing a 60-day state of emergency in December, the administration was given permission to allocate more money for energy imports and impose stricter curbs on electricity usage.
Protests and requests for Economy Minister Artane Rizvanolli’s resignation have erupted in response to the blackouts.
As economies recover from the Covid-19 outbreak, energy prices are soaring across Europe due to a variety of factors, including low Russian supplies and increased gas consumption.
Geopolitical concerns with Russia, which supplies one-third of Europe’s gas, have fueled the increase. While tensions over the situation in eastern Ukraine have risen, Russia has denied European charges that it has reduced gas deliveries.
Kosovo has been struck harder than others by the energy crisis. Kosovo imports 40% of its energy, according to government figures released last month. Ms. Rizvanolli announced on Tuesday that the administration has decided to prohibit so-called crypto mining to alleviate the effects of the global energy crisis.
Connecting computers – usually specialized “mining equipment” – to the currency network on the internet is required to mine cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin.
Mining machine owners are compensated with newly created currency for contributing computer power for authenticating transactions on that network, making it a potentially lucrative exercise. It does, however, demand a huge amount of computer power, which necessitates a huge amount of electricity.
Until recently, Kosovo had one of Europe’s cheapest electricity bills. Crypto mining became popular among Kosovo’s youth. The practice is most common in Kosovo’s northern regions, where ethnic Serbs refuse to pay their electricity bills because they do not recognize the country’s independence.
China and Iran, for example, restrict cryptocurrency mining due to environmental concerns. After draining the grid of more than 2GW per day, Iran imposed a four-month ban last year.
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