Kosovar government halts crypto mining amid power crisis

Due to power shortages during winter, the government of Kosovo has stopped crypto mining in the country.

According to Gazeta Express, Kosovo’s Minister for Economy Artane Rizvanolli has decided to stop cryptocurrency mining after receiving a recommendation by the Technical Committee on Emergency Measures for Energy Supply.

According to the report, the government took the decision after Kosovo’s power supply dropped below the required level. It then began to impose electricity cut during peak usage periods.

Rizvanolli said that the government established a technical committee to assess emergency energy supply strategies to address the situation. The government decided to implement emergency measures based on the recommendations of the committee last week. This included stopping crypto mining within Kosovo’s borders.

According to the report, law enforcement agencies will be working to find locations where these operations are taking place. Minister said:

“These actions aim to address potential unexpected or prolonged lack of electricity production capacity, transmission or distribution capacities or energy storage capacities in order overcome the energy crisis and not further burden the citizens of Republic of Kosovo.”

Due to low domestic production and high energy import costs, Kosovo’s energy distribution company KEDS announced on Dec. 22 that power outages will be in place across the country. Bitcoin mining consumes a lot of energy. One recent study found that Bitcoin uses eight times as much energy as Google and Facebook.

In the last few months, many countries have expressed concern over power outages related to mining, including Iran, Kazakhstan, and others.

Related: Iran suspends electricity exports because of crypto mining and hot Summer

Retail cryptocurrency mining in Thailand is booming, despite the September crypto ban that landed Chinese miners capitulating. Cointelegraph reported that Thai entrepreneurs and cryptocurrency businesses have taken advantage of the Chinese miners’ decision to get rid of their mining equipment.