In a town north of Kosovo, 272 Bitcoin miners got seized. The Estate justifies the action due to problems with electricity.
The Kosovo police forces initiated the plan of that country to stop the mining of Bitcoin (BTC), just as China did. The initiative got justified by the government because of issues with the electricity supply in the country.
In that sense, the authorities reported that 272 Bitcoin mining equipment operating in the town of Trebice, in the north of that country, were seized. The confiscated machines belong to the Bitmain brand, specifically the Antminer S9 and Antminer S9i models, according to the police in a statement on January 8.
On the same date, two more police procedures got carried out. One of these operations took place in Druar de Vushtrri, where at least 42 graphics cards for the production of cryptocurrencies got confiscated.
The Minister of Economy, Artane Rizvanolli, supported the action of the police. The official highlighted that tens of thousands of euros of taxpayers saved per month equals energy for hundreds of Kosovar families during the crisis.
Kosovo Government Warned Bitcoin Miners
A few days ago, on January 5, alleging an electricity crisis, Kosovo banned mining. The intention is to curb electricity consumption while they face the worst breakdown in recent years, according to Rizvanolli. Kosovo is a nation where energy prices are considerably cheap, many people have decided to get involved in mining cryptocurrencies.
The Kosovo government’s stance against Bitcoin miners turned similar to that of the Chinese entities, one of the leading cryptocurrency ban cases that became popular in 2021. In September of last year, the Central Bank of that nation highlighted that all activities connected to cryptocurrencies are prohibited and vetoed according to the law.
Other regions that banned bitcoin are Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, Iraq, Nepal, Qatar, and Oman. When energy issues occur in countries, bitcoin becomes the scapegoat. A recent phenomenon appeared in Latin America, specifically Argentina.
In that country, a government sector believes that electricity demand, the key to the Bitcoin and Ethereum mining industry, has caused power outages in various parts of the country. In this sense, they are currently analyzing rates and establishing investment requirements to maintain the system’s infrastructure.
Bitcoin: The Perfect Scapegoat
The rapid evolution of this industry and the popularity that Bitcoin (BTC) and ether (ETH) gained in the last year give the Argentine government a perfect excuse to find the culprits of the lack of power supply, these culprits are miners.
This questionable premise gets encouraged by other factors. First of all, the supposed impact of Bitcoin mining on the environment has become very widespread in popular opinion.
When it comes to enemies for electricity consumption, Bitcoin stands out as the number one globally. And even though it is a recurring topic of debate, the reality is that there are studies that show that the negative consequences of mining are not so serious since a good part of the miners claims to use renewable energy for their activity.
By: Jenson Nuñez
