The regulator proposed to assess the feasibility of banning PoW in favor of PoS and other environmentally friendly consensus mechanisms. The Swedish and German authorities are concerned about the energy usage related to cryptocurrency mining as it allegedly harms the environment.
Many believe Bitcoin (BTC) is the money of the future and the basis of the economy, as no government controls it. Since a decentralized network runs the crypto asset on thousands of devices worldwide, anyone can use it. However, regulators from different countries have attempted to ban the activities related to the pioneering cryptocurrency.
European Union (EU) officials have talked about the possibility of banning Bitcoin trading and Proof-of-Work (PoW) mining. They consider it is necessary to curb the use of energy by the network.
According to digital rights organization Netzpolitik, climate change due to cryptocurrencies is causing concern among officials in Berlin and Brussels. That has led the European Commission and the German government to consider banning Bitcoin mining and cryptocurrency trading.
The officials seem indifferent to the many people that turn to Bitcoin as a lifeline. For example, Ukrainian citizens use cryptocurrencies to escape from the terrible effects of the war with Russia.
EU Officials Seek to Ban Using the Pioneering Cryptocurrency
Netzpolitik reported that the regulator argued that they are responsible for complying with the Paris Agreement. The official document states that people should use renewable energy mainly for essential services. They also proposed to assess how feasible it is to ban PoW in favor of PoS and other environmentally friendly consensus mechanisms.
The EU meeting with the financial supervisor and the environmental agency of Sweden evidenced the growth of Bitcoin mining in the country. One of the speakers asked whether the authorities could push Bitcoin to transition to the PoS validation mechanism.
He highlighted that Bitcoin could change into a consensus mechanism that consumes less energy, just like Ethereum did. In addition, he commented that they needed to protect sustainable cryptocurrencies instead of focusing on the Bitcoin community.
Curiously, nobody knows who said those words since the European Commission deleted the names of the speakers.
Another anonymous speaker asked whether the European Union should ban Bitcoin trading based on the PoW algorithm of the cryptocurrency.
The official wanted to know how the demise of Bitcoin would affect consumers. He pointed out that BTC participants are aware of the risk/volatility of the currency/investment.
They also questioned other cryptocurrencies like Solana (SOL), indicating that Bitcoin offers the same. However, they did not mention that the Solana Foundation controls SOL, while Bitcoin is a more decentralized crypto asset.
Swedish Officials and the EU Still Discuss the PoW Consensus
Another document suggests that the discussions about the PoW consensus between Swedish officials and the European Union continue. Members of the German ministry of the environment joined that meeting to express their points of view.
The Swedish and German authorities are worried about the energy usage related to cryptocurrency mining. That is because the challenges of climate transition raise many concerns in that regard.
To conclude, Bitcoin is likely to remain a controversial topic in European politics. While some think it could complement fiat money, others believe it is necessary to control or ban it.
By Alexander Salazar
