Bitcoin mining given green light in Norway: Proposal to ban rejected

A proposal to ban bitcoin mining in Norway was rejected in a vote in the Norwegian parliament on May 10.

A proposal to ban bitcoin mining in Norway was first put forth in March of this year by the Red Party (the Communist Party of Norway). In a vote this week, the proposal was rejected because only the left-wing parties in Norway, including the Socialist Left Party, the Red Party and the Green Party, supported a ban on cryptocurrency mining.

Jaran Mellerud, an analyst at Arcane Research, said:

“Having lost this vote, these political parties are likely to make another attempt to increase the electricity tax specifically for miners, which is now their only remaining tool in their arsenal to make life harder for miners.”

Norway now contributes up to 1% to Bitcoin’s global hash rate.

Norway is a “green oasis” for the Bitcoin mining industry-the country boasts an abundance of hydroelectric power and low electricity prices, especially in the north.

In the middle and northern parts of Norway, the cost per kilowatt hour is 0.12 Norwegian kroner ($0.012) – an “extremely cheap” rate internationally, Mellerud told Cointelegraph.

An article by Norwegian news channel E24 reports that “regular households, companies and the public sector pay an electricity tax of 15.41 öre ($0.015) per kilowatt hour,” but in some cases “the mining industry has a reduced electricity tariff.”

Mellerud believes that “it is unlikely that there will be an increase in the electricity tax specifically for miners.”