In recent days, the expectation has grown to know if the European Union (EU), in the voice of the European Parliament, will formally decide whether or not to ban Bitcoin (BTC) mining. In the event that the activity is finally outlawed, would it have any severe impact on the network?
If the numbers of the Mining Map from the University of Cambridge, the short answer is no. Europe, although it has attracted miners, still does not have enough hashrate to destabilize the network if something happens. Total, the countries that make up the block generate, among themselves, 11% of the global hash rate. It is, coincidentally, the same that Russia contributes by itself.
According to this indicator, the European nations that report the most mining activity are Germany (4.48%), Sweden (1.16%) and Ireland (4.68%). Those that contribute the least are Bulgaria (0.01%), Estonia (0.01%) and the Czech Republic (0.01%), in addition to others where the presence of miners does not seem to exist.
What does this mean? In simple words, that if the European Parliament bans mining and ASICs are switched off, a minuscule and temporary affectation would occur on the network Bitcoin. This, contrary to complicating the situation, would call for the resilience of the first cryptocurrency, that could continue operating with 89% of the global hashrateenough to keep her insured.
But bitcoiners would be affected
However, the impact would reach those who are dedicated to the ecosystem. There is talk from miners to exchanges, which, by order of a political institution, would have to make themselves subject to compliance or risk being sanctioned. It must be remembered that the rule establishes the prohibition of trading crypto assets that use the Proof of Work (PoW) due to the alleged environmental impact it causes. Bitcoin, as is known, is a cryptocurrency that is mined with the PoW consensus.
The ban could lead to migration [y descentralización] of Bitcoin operators from European soil to other places in the world, where the activity is well seen and accepted. A destiny resounds in Latin America, where several projects related to BTC are being developed.
A ban and subsequent migration of miners is already something Bitcoin experienced in the past. Not long ago, in May 2021, China banned the activity with the excuse of caring for the environment and the crimes that (such as fiat money) commit with digital assets.
That blow, which dropped the price of the cryptocurrency below $30,000 and caused a major pullback in the hash rate, was overcome a few weeks later thanks to the activity of new miners and other operators sieging in different locations. At that time, the resilience of BTC made the difference and allowed it to set new records again.
This is likely to happen again if Europe bans mining. The experience marked a path for Bitcoin, which will continue in case it is prohibited by one or several countries. The important thing is that there are places where the activity can be carried out and that understand that mining, although it pollutes, does not represent a threat to the environment.
The MiCA law and the claim to ban mining
The talk about the mining ban in Europe has its origin in the discussion of the MiCA law (Markets in Crypto Assets). This is an old project that aims to regulate the cryptocurrency market on European soil and that it would seek to ban Proof-of-Work mining.
This possibility was going to be discussed on Monday, February 28, however, due to pressure from bitcoiners, the session was suspended, presumably. at the request of Stefan Berger, the politician behind the motion.
The discussion about making mining illegal was included in the MiCA Law by representatives of Swedish regulatory institutions, which since November of last year have insisted on prohibiting mining due to its alleged environmental impact, as reported in CriptoNoticias.
That law responds to a package of regulations that, according to politicians, seeks to provide a legal framework for bitcoin exchanges, cryptocurrency issuers and Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs).
Community pressure led to the resumption of talks and negotiations with the groups in the European Parliament on the issue of mining, so that, until now, it is unknown when the session will be called again.
However, if the discussion takes place tomorrow and the ban on the processing of the Bitcoin network in Europe is approved, the facts and figures show that the ecosystem will prevail. and that no illegalization will be able to stop its impact on the world, society and the economy.