Bitcoin mining is officially recognized in Norway, which has become an even more hospitable country for specialized companies.
Bitcoin mining is officially accepted in Norway. Or, to be more precise, since the majority voted against banning bitcoin mining in the country, it is not banned. This proposal to ban mining in Norway was first proposed in March last year by the Red Party (the country’s communist party). In this week’s vote, only the Socialists, the Red Party and the Greens voted in favor of such a ban.
Bitcoin mining officially recognized in Norway
Jaran Mellerud, an analyst at Arcane Research, explained the situation to Cointelegraph: “The vote that these parties lost was a vote against general large-scale mining. Now that they have lost that vote, these political parties will most likely try to raise energy taxes on cryptocurrency miners as it is the last tool at their disposal to make life difficult for minors.”
Despite the efforts of political parties, the bitcoin mining business in Norway has grown significantly in recent years. Norway currently contributes 1% to bitcoin’s global hash rate by using 100% renewable energy in the country.
Jaran Mellerud added that “anti-Bitcoin political parties in Norway are trying to force Bitcoin miners out of the country by imposing a higher energy tax specifically on them or even trying to make mining illegal. […] Fortunately, their attempts were not successful, and this government decision not to ban bitcoin mining should be the final nail in the coffin of their attempts to get rid of this industry.”
The country has become even more hospitable for specialized companies
Norway has always been a very fertile ground for cryptocurrency mining thanks to its abundance of hydropower as well as low energy prices, especially in the north of the country. In these regions, a kilowatt-hour costs “only”NOK 0.12, or about 1.2 euro cents. In other words, an extremely competitive price compared to the rest of the world.
An article by the Norwegian media E24 reporting this information explains that “private households, businesses and the public sector pay an electricity tax of NOK 15.41 (€1.52) per kilowatt hour.”However, in some cases, “the mining industry has a reduced tax.”In conclusion, Jaran Mellerud explains that “an increase in this energy tax specifically for miners is unlikely.” At the same time, bitcoin is slowly but surely entering the Norwegian financial landscape, retail investment continues to grow, and TradFi companies in the country are starting to invest in BTC.