- The EU has been discussing banning Bitcoin (BTC) Proof of Work mining.
- It seems that Bitcoin’s overall energy consumption might be one of the reasons for this suggestion.
- The EU is not concerned about the possible effects that a ban on Bitcoin might have on investors and traders.
Officials from the European Union (EU) have been discussing and debating banning Bitcoin (BTC) Proof of Work mining. This is according to documents that were obtained through a freedom of information request.
A German digital culture organization, Netzpolitik, reported that EU officials went as far as to suggest an all-out ban on trading Bitcoin. It seems that Bitcoins’ overall energy consumption might be one of the reasons for this suggestion.
One of the issues worrying the Bitcoin community was mentioned in a meeting with Sweden’s financial supervisor and an environmental protection agency. In this meeting, officials suggested pressuring Bitcoin to switch to a Proof of Stake (PoS) mechanism, instead of a Proof of Work (PoW) mechanism.
One official stated that
“Ethereum started moving [to PoS] because of its community…if Ethereum is able to shift, we could legitimately request the same from BTC. We need to protect other crypto coins that are sustainable. We don’t see the need to protect the Bitcoin community.”
Another individual at the meeting suggested placing a blanket on all crypto assets that use the PoW algorithm.
Concerns were raised about the possible effects that a ban on Bitcoin might have on investors and traders, but EU officials did not seem at all concerned with the issue.
These officials believe that “participants in BTC are fully aware of the volatility of the currency/investment risk. We do not need additional protection measures.”
Bitcoin’s energy consumption will continue to draw attention, and it is clear that some officials are willing to go to great lengths to solve this problem.