European Union (EU) officers mentioned banning Bitcoin buying and selling throughout a debate on a proposal to ban Proof of Work mining based on paperwork obtained by means of a freedom of data request. According to a report, printed by German digital tradition group Netzpolitik, officers from the EU went so far as suggesting that an all out ban on buying and selling Bitcoin (BTC) needs to be enforced with the intention to curb its total power consumption. The most worrying feedback from the crypto group’s perspective got here from a doc that detailed the minutes from an EU assembly with Sweden’s monetary supervisor and an environmental safety company through which officers advised that regulators stress the Bitcoin group to change to a Proof of Stake (PoS) mechanism, as an alternative of its present energy-intensive Proof of Work (PoW) mechanism. A unidentified official within the dialogue stated:“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 unnamed speaker advised that the EU may fairly place a blanket ban on buying and selling any crypto property that used a PoW algorithm. The reply to this query was redacted within the doc to guard the “ongoing decision-making process,” however it brings consideration to the truth that the EU was critically contemplating such dramatic regulation.When discussing the potential impact of an outright Bitcoin ban on traders and retail merchants the officers had been largely unconcerned, claiming that each one Bitcoin traders are absolutely conscious of draw back danger.“Participants in BTC are fully aware of the volatility of the currency/investment risk. [We] do not need additional protection measures.”This report comes as Bitcoin’s power utilization continues to attract consideration from environmental organizations and regulators. According to the University of Cambridge’s Bitcoin Electricity Consumption Index, Bitcoin mining at the moment consumes roughly 139 terawatt hours (Twh) of electrical energy yearly. For comparability, your entire UK solely used an estimated 265 Twh in 2021, based on Statista.At the top of March, Ripple co-founder Chris Larsen teamed up with Greenpeace to stress Bitcoin to alter its consensus mechanism to PoS, very like Ethereum intends to do later this 12 months. The EU’s Economic and Monetary Affairs committee lately voted in opposition to laws calling for a ban on Proof-of-Work mining. However, these paperwork do present distinctive perception into the lengths that some EU officers are prepared to go to with the intention to crack down on mining-related power utilization. While it seems that PoS cryptocurrencies stay protected from sweeping regulatory motion within the near-term, Bitcoin mining will proceed to be a contested difficulty within the EU.

European Union (EU) officers mentioned banning Bitcoin buying and selling throughout a debate on a proposal to ban Proof of Work mining based on paperwork obtained by means of a freedom of data request. 

According to a report, printed by German digital tradition group Netzpolitik, officers from the EU went so far as suggesting that an all out ban on buying and selling Bitcoin (BTC) needs to be enforced with the intention to curb its total power consumption.

The most worrying feedback from the crypto group’s perspective got here from a doc that detailed the minutes from an EU assembly with Sweden’s monetary supervisor and an environmental safety company through which officers advised that regulators stress the Bitcoin group to change to a Proof of Stake (PoS) mechanism, as an alternative of its present energy-intensive Proof of Work (PoW) mechanism. A unidentified official within the dialogue stated:

“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 unnamed speaker advised that the EU may fairly place a blanket ban on buying and selling any crypto property that used a PoW algorithm.

The reply to this query was redacted within the doc to guard the “ongoing decision-making process,” however it brings consideration to the truth that the EU was critically contemplating such dramatic regulation.

When discussing the potential impact of an outright Bitcoin ban on traders and retail merchants the officers had been largely unconcerned, claiming that each one Bitcoin traders are absolutely conscious of draw back danger.

“Participants in BTC are fully aware of the volatility of the currency/investment risk. [We] do not need additional protection measures.”

This report comes as Bitcoin’s power utilization continues to attract consideration from environmental organizations and regulators. According to the University of Cambridge’s Bitcoin Electricity Consumption Index, Bitcoin mining at the moment consumes roughly 139 terawatt hours (Twh) of electrical energy yearly. For comparability, your entire UK solely used an estimated 265 Twh in 2021, based on Statista.

At the top of March, Ripple co-founder Chris Larsen teamed up with Greenpeace to stress Bitcoin to alter its consensus mechanism to PoS, very like Ethereum intends to do later this 12 months.

The EU’s Economic and Monetary Affairs committee lately voted in opposition to laws calling for a ban on Proof-of-Work mining. However, these paperwork do present distinctive perception into the lengths that some EU officers are prepared to go to with the intention to crack down on mining-related power utilization.

While it seems that PoS cryptocurrencies stay protected from sweeping regulatory motion within the near-term, Bitcoin mining will proceed to be a contested difficulty within the EU.