Norway Wants to Curb Bitcoin Mining with Europe's First Data Center Regulation
Norway has introduced new legislation to regulate data centers. While the proposal is not explicitly targeted at Bitcoin miners, the sentiment expressed by the country's top politicians promises increased scrutiny for Bitcoin miners in the country.
- The government of Norway has proposed a new telecoms act that includes new regulations for its data center industry. This would make Norway the first European country to impose a dedicated legal framework on data center operators.
- If approved by parliament, the law will introduce a registration requirements for data center operators, including the owners and managers of facilities, as well as the type of digital services they offer.
- Per local news outlet VG, one of the goals of the registration is to enable politicians to have a clearer understanding of the data centers operating in their municipalities.
"The purpose is to regulate the industry in such a way that we can close the door for the projects we do not want. We need to know more about which data centers we have, what they contain and what they do. Today we have no overview," said the country's Digitalization Minister Karianne Tung.
- Energy Minister Terje Aasland added that it is particularly the cryptocurrency miners that the country doesn't want.
“They are not welcome in Norway. We want serious actors who are important to society, and the society-serving computer industry is important to us,” said the minister.
- "[Bitcoin mining] is associated with large greenhouse-gas emissions and is an example of a type of business we do not want in Norway," he added.
- According to Hashrate Index, Norway is the largest Europe's hydropower producer and accounts for less than ~3% of Bitcoin's hashrate.
- "Communications regulator Nkom, which will be responsible for enforcing much of the new law, welcomed the proposal, saying consumers should see their rights strengthened and infrastructure be more secure as a result," reported Telecompaper.
