Could The EU Follow China Into A Mining Ban
If 2021 was the year of the China mining ban, then 2022 could be the year of the European mining ban. As 35% of the global hash rate left China, mining companies have moved to the US, Canada, and Europe to get their operations back on track. It took less than 6 months for the bitcoin network to recover from the ban and migration and we saw the hash rate back at all-time highs and along with it the price.
The EU is by no means the biggest miner in the world with Germany and Ireland making the bulk of all mining in the region with a combined 9%. The rest of the EU nations are all sub 2% so it really makes up a fraction of the network.
Sweden and the EU hating on bitcoin mining
Sweden with over 1.3% of the bitcoin hash rate has been the first country to hit out at bitcoin mining. As directors of the Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority and the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency speaking out against the energy consumption of mining.
Erik Thedéen and Bjorn Risinger have raised concerns about the country’s ability to meet climate obligations. They claim the current mining of Bitcoin in Sweden uses as much electricity as 200,000 regular households and clearly don't see the value in Swedish individuals and companies acquiring bitcoin.
Poor energy generation
The issue here is not with bitcoin, but with the EU currently in an energy crisis. The push towards renewable energy means you're moving from reliable forms of energy towards unreliable forms of energy and thus energy inflation as demand puts pressure on supply. We've seen surging energy prices across Europe and they are looking for a scapegoat of which bitcoin seems to be the easy target.
If we look at the increase in energy prices across the EU it's going parabolic and shows no signs of slowing down. It's not that simple to bring more energy online and it can take years, and even if you do go back to fossil fuels, it's not something you can switch on in a day and these delays will only further put pressure on energy markets.
Energy cost prices across Europe
Source: statista.com
Bitcoin will survive
When you look at it from an energy policy view, you can understand why the EU countries are looking to get rid of bitcoin, it puts extra demand on their grid and exposes their poor energy policies.
If we consider the EU is only 10% of the bitcoin network taking their miners offline would hardly be an issue since we showed our robust this network can be, after the china ban. An EU mining ban may seem scary but I don't see how it will really affect the bitcoin network and overall I see it as a positive.
It only further decentralizes mining across Europe and provides an incentive for developing nations to take on more hash rates with less competition from European nations.
Sources:
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I'm afraid of it because the energy costs are very expensive
but what I don't get is the banking system
needs a hundredfold
and they haven't changed anything for centuries! 🥱
why are you afraid? What is your worst situation? I think they don't want people moving out of the Euro and various European countries or negative interest rate policies they have there will be rendered ineffective
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If the world can survive the China mining ban, it can survive the EU ban. I am more worried about whether or not the US will ban mining or not. Like you said, the issue is the push towards renewables and they also refuse to support nuclear even though I think that is clean enough.
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If the US bans mining it will surly be a big knock back down of hash rate but perhaps some states can still maintain the mining if it's entrenched in their tax base
I agree that nuclear should be looked at more positively and I think it will over time! I do think that more bans only give the little guy more Sats in mining as big operations struggle which I think is good for distribution of the coins
Unfortunately, we do not live in a world of problem solvers working for a better world. Instead, we live in a world where people are greedy and corrupt, making no efforts unless to preserve their fortunes.
Right now the most pressing issue is waste management. Nobody is talking about that. We have been in an energy crisis since the 70s. Instead of solving the crisis by making Water, Wind, and Solar Energy more cost-effective, and efficient to replace all fossil fuels.
Do not even get me started on the whole Nuclear Energy stupidity. We should not have to create tons of dangerous and unmanageable waste to generate energy.
The world as a whole needs to shift focus from income to problem-solving.
Absolutely, it's all about getting to the next term and hope you don't have to deal with the fallout once you retire, there's no consideration for others and for the future. That is very interesting, could you tell me more about the waste management issue? You referring to trash and recycling overall or like sanitation?
I am referring to the Trash and lack of Recycling. There is an island of garbage in the middle of the ocean and it is growing. It boggles my mind. Growing up in the 70s we did not know anything because the information was expensive and hard to get. Now it is all out there so it is surprising no one else is freaked out like I am because I can not see a solution that the world will adopt.