Finance Minister: BTC Miners In Norway Shouldn’t Get Cheaper Electricity
Trygve Slagsvold Vedum thinks that Norwegians who mine Bitcoin (BTC) shouldn’t get a discount on their electricity bills.
The Finance Minister of Norway, Trygve Slagsvold Vedum, asked the government to get rid of its crypto programme that lets bitcoin miners in Norway pay less for electricity.
He thinks that the current state of the market and the ongoing energy crisis in Europe are two of the most important reasons for this change.
The way BTC miners are treated shouldn’t be different
In 2016, the Norwegian government made it possible for data centres, like those that mine cryptocurrency, to pay less for energy than other people.
But, according to Finance Minister Vedum, the big picture of the economy has changed a lot in the past six years, and this means that certain changes need to be made:
“We are in a completely different situation in the power market now than when the reduced rate for data centers was introduced in 2016. In many places, the supply of power is now under pressure, which causes prices to rise.
At the same time, we see a development with increased extraction of cryptocurrency in Norway. We need this power of community. The government will therefore discontinue the scheme.”
The Minister also said that getting rid of the programme would bring in an extra NOK 150 million ($14 million) for the Norwegian economy.
Russia’s limited energy deliveries are putting a lot of stress on Europe’s power market right now. Another thing that made things worse was the COVID-19 pandemic. Between 2020 and the beginning of 2022, many businesses cut back on how much electricity they used (when the health disaster was at its peak). But power plants couldn’t keep up with the increased demand in the last few months, so prices went up.
The Green Status of Norway
The Scandinavian country has recently become a place where bitcoin miners want to go. The country is responsible for about 0.7% of the global hash rate, which, given how small its population is, is still a big number.
It’s important to note that Norway is all about being green. A small amount of its electricity comes from the wind, but 88% comes from hydropower, which is made possible by its wet climate and mountainous terrain.
Kryptovault AS, a local mining company, said not long ago that it would move its operations north of the Arctic Circle, where there is a lot of water. Like many of its competitors in Norway, the company makes almost all of its bitcoin with renewable energy (98% of it comes from hydropower).
