Key Takeaways
- Buterin suggested the implementation of carbon pricing as an alternative solution to banning PoW mining.
- His comments come against the backdrop of New York passing a bill that would essentially ban PoW operations within the state.
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin is the latest to voice his thoughts on the long standing debate on whether governments should ban proof-of-work (PoW) mining activities or not. He took to twitter to oppose the banning of PoW mining operations by governments. Vitalik was responding to US Senate Candidate Bruce Fenton’s tweet on Government regulations.
Ethereum’s Vitalik in his tweet suggested the implementation of carbon pricing as an alternative solution to banning PoW mining as it can provide additional revenue for governments to compensate low-income electricity users. He remarked that governments picking and choosing which specific applications should use electricity or not is a “bad idea.”
His comments come on the backdrop of the State of New York passing a bill that would ban PoW operations within the state that use carbon-based power sources. The bill calls for a two-year period of moratorium on issuing licenses to PoW miners that use carbon forms of fuel. However, PoW mining companies that use 100% renewable energy will be exempted from it. If the crypto mining moratorium is signed into law by the New York governor, it could potentially trigger an exodus of crypto miners from the state.
Apart from the State of New York, European Parliament had also proposed a similar PoW mining ban. However, amid increasing public scrutiny, it amended the proposal to remove the ban. The Biden Administration is also formulating a policy targeting bitcoin mining — with an aim to mitigate energy consumption and emissions. Sweden has recently called for a ban on PoW crypto mining, stating that its renewable energy resource could go toward supporting other vital industries.
Crypto Industry has long grappled with the question of whether PoW mining is worth it or not, considering the huge energy consumption. PoW mining has been criticized for its environmental footprint, and critics hold that it is a wasteful and unsustainable crypto for the universe. Crypto Enthusiasts, however, argue that the cryptocurrency mining industry is not yet unusually terrible for the environment in comparison to other aspects of life in a modern industrialized society. In an increasingly environmentally conscious world unless and until PoW miners find a solution to use less energy, countries are bound to take a rigid stance against energy extensive Bitcoin mining.
