It looks like bitcoin and crypto fans in countries that are part of the European Union (EU) can breathe a sigh of relief today as the continental organization has voted against banning bitcoin mining and proof of work (PoW) modules.
The EU Says “Yes” to BTC Mining
Not long ago, Live Bitcoin News reported that the EU was looking to potentially end all crypto mining projects within its borders, citing environmental concerns. Finnish Parliament member Eero Heinaluoma was one of the people in the government looking to end the practice as he is extremely worried about how things are going to turn out for the planet in the next couple years. In an interview, he stated:
The carbon footprint of a single bitcoin transaction equals a transatlantic return flight (from) London to New York. This is 1.5 million times the energy used up by a Visa transaction. Supporting this completely unsustainable model is really a bad political message from the conservatives in times when energy prices for ordinary citizens and businesses are going through the roof, and when the EU is trying at the highest level to reduce our dependence on Russian gas in the coming months.
Not long after Heinaluoma and many of his colleagues voiced their opinions about the allegedly dangerous society of bitcoin miners that are bringing down Earth’s global health, a new form of legislation known as Markets in Crypto Assets (MICA) was introduced to the Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee, a division of the EU. The organization was set to have the final vote on the matters discussed in the bill, which would have ultimately seen crypto mining banned in all EU countries if the committee had voted in favor of the legislation.
Thankfully, one can see that the EU has its head on straight and sees the value of this growing industry. The EU ultimately voted not to ban crypto mining, and regulatory heads are now willing to sit back and let this space flourish. Overall, the legislation failed to pass with roughly 30 “no” votes compared to 23 “yes” votes. About six individuals either abstained or did not participate.
Ernest Urtasun – a member of the European Parliament within the Greens/EFA political group – explained that the bill was much more complicated than the media is making it out to be, and while there were passages devoted to ending crypto mining, there was a lot more at stake. He said:
It was not as simple as this. Our proposal was more complex and more considering the need of the industry to adapt.
A Big Win for Crypto
Nevertheless, many industry experts and crypto analysts are taking the moment as a huge victory for crypto all over Europe and the rest of the world. Michael Saylor of MicroStrategy said:
Bitcoin won that vote. You need energy to create real property.
Source: https://www.livebitcoinnews.com/the-eu-votes-to-keep-crypto-mining-in-place/