According to a Friday report by Reuters, Norway’s ruling Labour Party intends to crack down on Bitcoin mining.
The government intends to impose restrictions on the energy-intensive industry, temporarily prohibiting the creation of new data centers for mining.
The uber-rich Scandinavian country intends to implement the ban later this year.
Due to its cold climate, which reduces hardware cooling costs, and abundant renewable energy, Norway has turned into a major mining hub. According to Cambridge data, the country accounted for nearly 1% of the total global hashrate as of 2022.
Major industry players of the likes of Bitfury and Bitdeer have mining facilities in Norway.
However, according to the Norwegian government, Bitcoin mining actually generates few jobs and little income for locals while consuming a lot of power.
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Last April, Norway introduced a data center law that requires the operators of these facilities to disclose detailed information about their operations. The main goal of the law is to curb Bitcoin mining.
Terje Aasland, who has served as Norway’s energy minister since 2022, previously said that the government wanted to prioritize those actors whose operations benefit society over power-hungry miners.
Several other countries have also imposed temporary bans on Bitcoin mining. Landsvirkjun, Iceland’s main electrical company, for instance, blocked power for new Bitcoin miners last year due to various factors, including insufficient hydro reservoir levels. Canada’s Manitoba also previously implemented a temporary moratorium on new Bitcoin mining hookups. Earlier this year, Kuwait moved to crack down on unauthorized Bitcoin mining operations due to facing a power crisis caused by the heat.
Meanwhile, some countries, such as China, Algeria and Kosovo, have completely prohibited Bitcoin mining.
