Aftenpost, Norway’s largest newspaper, has confirmed that the Norwegian government will stop giving electricity subsidies to crypto mining firms in the country. Bitcoin mining firms in the country had been paying a lowly $0.05 per kilowatt which will soon rise to $1.73 per kilowatt. This revision of the pricing came after an amended state budget by parliament.
A vocal parliamentary representative said, “Norway cannot continue to provide huge tax incentives for the dirtiest form of crypto-currency output, Bitcoin requires a lot of energy and generates large greenhouse gas emissions globally.”
The current electricity subsidies in the country enable Norwegian firms to mine Bitcoin at about $7,700 per coin, which is quite fair according to Northern Bitcoin, a German mining firm operating in Norway.
Following the scrapping of the subsidies, domestic industry players have hit out at the Norwegian argument stating, “This is shocking! To change framework conditions without discussion, consultation or dialogue with the industry. Norway scores high on rankings of political stability and predictable framework conditions, but now the government is playing a gambling role with its credibility.”
Surprisingly, some crypto enthusiasts in the Country have lauded the government’s move stating that less mining would reduce electricity cost for all residing in the country. One such crypto enthusiast is the CEO of Oslo’s Blockchain advisory group, Blockchangers, Jon Ramvi, who chimed in by stating that more miners did not make the Bitcoin network faster and also did not make it scale better.
