- Sweden says Bitcoin miners do not create jobs despite high energy demands
The energy minister of Sweden, Khashayar Farmanbar, does not agree that giving power to Bitcoin miners is feasible. Farmanbar said it was better to give energy to job-creating projects such as steel plants.
In a Bloomberg interview, Farmanbar said it was better to use energy for useful activities instead of using it for Bitcoin mining. According to the official, steel plants created more jobs than Bitcoin mining sites.
Bitcoin mining operations have been criticized by many countries globally because of their energy-intensive nature. The Bitcoin network is secured by a proof-of-work algorithm that has been scrutinized in several countries because of the high energy demands. The Bitcoin network also relied more on electricity than human labor.
The report by Bloomberg noted that the Swedish government has paid close attention to crypto mining operations. Last month, the government mandated the Energy Agency to monitor and report the amount of power used to support digital infrastructure, including cryptocurrency mining.
The energy minister did not mention the measures taken to curtail crypto mining. However, the report hinted that one of the measures that could be taken was changing how power is allocated to new users. Those who create more jobs would be given preference in accessing the power grid than those who did not create jobs.
This is not the first time Swedish regulators have been skeptical over crypto mining activities. In November, regulators in the country advocated for a ban on energy-intensive cryptocurrency mining. Earlier this year, the vice chair of the European Securities and Markets Authority expressed similar concerns.
Mixed reactions to crypto mining
China banned cryptocurrency mining last year. Before this ban, the country ranked as the largest Bitcoin mining hub globally, dominating the network hash rate. The ban forced many miners to migrate to other countries, and the US is now the largest Bitcoin miner.
However, the popularity of miners in other jurisdictions has not been without issues. New York Senators recently passed a bill prohibiting Bitcoin mining for two years. However, other states, such as Texas, have embraced Bitcoin mining due to the abundance of renewable energy sources.
UK lawmakers had also proposed a law to ban PoW mining. This law was not implemented because it failed to pass in parliament after being shut down.
