The EU Should Ban Proof-of-Work Mining

The vice-chair of the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) – Erik Thedéen – urged the EU monetary regulators to ban the cryptocurrency mining mannequin generally known as proof-of-work. He additionally claimed that bitcoin has become a “national issue” for his homeland Sweden due to the quantity of renewable power dedicated to mining the asset.

‘The Solution Is to Ban Proof-of-Work’

In a current interview for the Financial Times, Erik Thedéen (additionally Director-General of Sweden’s FCA) opined that cryptocurrencies using the proof-of-work mining methodology pose important dangers to the surroundings. As such, European regulators ought to encourage the proof-of-stake mannequin, which is much less energy-intensive:

“We need to have a discussion about shifting the industry to a more efficient technology. The solution is to ban proof-of-work. Proof-of-stake has a significantly lower energy profile.”

It is value noting that the 2 largest digital property by market capitalization – Bitcoin and Ether – depend on the proof-of-work mining expertise. However, Ethereum is on its method to upgrading the community to Ethereum 2.0 because the transition is predicted to occur this summer season. Following the event, the second-largest blockchain protocol will begin using the proof-of-stake methodology and thus turn into extra green-focused.

Bitcoin, although, has no plans to modify its mining mannequin. Thedéen stated the first digital asset is now a “national issue” for Sweden as a result of a substantial share of renewable power is presently devoted to mining it. The ESMA exec thinks Swedish electrical energy needs to be employed in creating conventional providers and never BTC:

“It would be an irony if the wind power generated on Sweden’s long coastline would be devoted to bitcoin mining.”

The Good Side of BTC Mining

In October final yr, the authorities of the Canadian city North Vancouver determined to make use of the power launched from bitcoin mining into heating residential and industrial buildings. The initiative ought to see the sunshine of day in the course of the first half of 2022 because it was supported by the joint efforts of Lonsdale Energy Corporation (LEC) and the native digital asset miner MintGreen.

The latter asserted that its “Digital Boilers” might stop 20,000 tones of GHGs from getting into the ambiance per MW in comparison with pure fuel.

In flip, Karsten Veng – CEO at Lonsdale Energy Corporation – raised hopes that the collaboration can be helpful for the Canadian city, residence to just about 50,000 individuals, and for the surroundings:

“LEC is on a journey to lower greenhouse gas emissions, and this project will be part of that.”