Bitcoin (BTC) mining can no longer be banned in Norway. That is what emerges from the majority vote approved by the Norwegian Parliament on May 10.
The proposal to ban Bitcoin mining in Norway was first suggested in March this year by the Red Party (Norway’s communist party). In this week’s vote, the proposal was overturned, as only Norway’s leftist parties, including the Socialist Left Party, the Red Party, and the Green Party would support a ban on cryptocurrency mining.
Jaran Mellerud, an analyst at Arcane Research and a Cointelegraph contributor, clarified the events: “The vote these parties lost was against banning large-scale Bitcoin mining in general.”
“Having lost this vote, these political parties will probably make one more attempt to raise the energy tax specifically for miners, which is now their only tool left in their toolbox to make life difficult for miners.”
Against the efforts of political parties, Bitcoin mining companies in Norway have prospered in recent years. Norway now contributes up to 1% to the global Bitcoin hash rate, harnessing the 100% renewable energy of the country of the midnight sun.
Norwegian Mellerud added that “Bitcoin-hostile political parties in Norway have been trying to force bitcoin miners out of the country by enforcing a higher energy tax rate specifically for miners or even trying to ban mining. mining”.
Fortunately, they have not been successful, and this decision by the government not to ban bitcoin mining should be the final nail in the coffin of their attempts to get rid of the industry.
Cointelegraph previously reported that Norway is a “green oasis” for Bitcoin mining, with abundant hydropower and low energy prices, especially in the north.
In central and northern Norway, the cost per kilowatt-hour is 0.12 Norwegian kroner ($0.012), a very competitive rate internationally, or “extremely cheap,” Mellerud told Cointelegraph.
The Norwegian news article E24 reported that “ordinary households, businesses and the public sector pay an electricity tax of 15.41 øre (USD 0.015) per kilowatt-hour”, however, in some cases the “mining industry has a reduced electricity tax”.
Mellerud concluded that “an electricity tax increase specifically for miners is now much less likely”. Meanwhile, Bitcoin is slowly gaining a foothold in the Norwegian financial landscape as retail interest in cryptocurrencies increases and TradFi firms have dipped into BTC investments in the country.
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