Crypto Advocates: Potential Ban on Crypto Mining Is Death Sentence for EU Bitcoin

Calls to ban cryptocurrency mining in the EU’s 27 member states have largely come from regulators in Sweden, who are concerned that renewable energy is being used to mine cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin rather than being channelled to the public. Politicians in Germany, Spain and Norway also supported the call. Stefan Berger, a member of the European Parliament in charge of an upcoming regulatory package to control crypto assets in the EU, called the potential ban on cryptocurrency mining a death sentence for bitcoin in the EU. Members of the European cryptocurrency community believe that the ongoing energy crunch in the European Union has caused household electricity bills to soar, and that regulators are looking for low-hanging fruit rather than addressing the root causes of shortages. Dmitrijs Litkins, founder of the European Crypto Mining Association, said he is not concerned about crypto bans in the region because there may be nothing to ban.