Chinese Bitcoin miner abandons Norway
Chinese cryptocurrency giant Bitmain halts its operation in Norway. They blame the data center policy of the Norwegian government. The declining value of Bitcoin also contributes to the decision.
The company produces the Antminer extraction machine. Antminer is the most widely used tool for Bitcoin mining, writes, E24.
Bitmain is regularly referred to as the world’s most valuable Bitcoin company. One year after establishment in Norway, they now halt all operations and move their European facility to Germany.
The reason is, among other things, the Norwegian Government’s disputed proposal to introduce full electricity tax for data centers that extract cryptocurrency. The proposal has created fears for the stability of the industry. Several companies announce that deals worth billions are going down the drain due to the heralded change.
“There is no focus on Norway anymore. We assess the Norwegian market as too uncertain. Whenever I approached the politicians, I was constantly told that the matter was postponed. This made the job difficult, ”acting CEO of Bitmain Norway, Julie Hvideberg, explains.
Hefty rebate on Bitcoin mining
The disputed governmental decision has been postponed a number of times. According to the Ministry of Finance, the proposal will be issued for consultations ASAP.
Data centers currently have the same discount as other power-intensive industries. This means that those who have a capacity of more than 0.5 megawatts, pay NOK 0.0048 in fees per kilowatt hour, instead of NOK 0.1658 øre. This hefty rebate is what the government wish to remove for companies that extract cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin.
© NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today
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