Sweden may change its stance against bitcoin mining in light of predictions for rising energy needs in other sectors. The Swedish economy is transitioning from a “period of administration to an intense expansion” where the “entire industrial industry seeks to electrify,” Energy Minister Khashayar Farmanbar noted in a recent interview. “We need energy for more useful things than bitcoin, to be honest.” Sweden Attracted Many Bitcoin Miners With its hydro reservoirs and wind farms supplying clean and affordable electricity, Sweden has drawn a lot of bitcoin miners. Its coin manufacturing sector has grown to be among, if not the biggest, in all of Europe. The Stockholm government has assigned the Swedish Energy Agency to assess the energy usage in the digital world, particularly crypto mining because they are concerned about its rising power demand. The accessibility of inexpensive energy mainly determines the location of mining farms. At the same time, crypto asset values significantly impact their operators’ profits. These problems are expected to worsen due to the mandated assessment. Potential Imposition of Measures To Restrict Mining Farmanbar declined to say what policies the government would enact to limit mining, but two possibilities have been brought forward. One is to rearrange the order in which power users connect to the network, giving precedence to those who evidently contribute more to society’s advantages, such as...
