Facing Power Crisis, Kosovo Bans Cryptocurrency Mining

Kosovo's authorities on Tuesday launched a ban on cryptocurrency mining in an try to curb electrical energy consumption because the nation faces the worst power disaster in a decade as a result of manufacturing outages."All law enforcement agencies will stop the production of this activity in cooperation with other relevant institutions that will identify the locations where there is cryptocurrency production," Economy and Energy Minister Artane Rizvanolli stated in an announcement.Due to low-cost energy costs in Kosovo in recent times, many younger folks in Kosovo have gotten concerned in crypto mining.Faced with coal-fired energy plant outages and excessive import costs authorities had been compelled final month to introduce energy cuts.European fuel costs soared greater than 30 per cent on Tuesday after low provides from Russia reignited considerations about an power crunch as colder climate approaches.In December, Kosovo declared a state of emergency for 60 days which can permit the federal government to allocate more cash to power imports, introduce more energy cuts and harsher measures.One miner, who spoke on situation of anonymity and who has 40 GPUs (Graphics Processing Units), instructed Reuters he was paying round 170 euros monthly for electrical energy and is getting round 2,400 euros monthly in revenue from mining.Coin mining has been on the rise in northern Kosovo, principally populated by Serbs who don't recognise the state of Kosovo and refuse to pay electrical energy.The nation of 1.8 million folks is now importing greater than 40% of its consumed power with excessive demand throughout the winter when folks use electrical energy primarily for heating.Around 90% % of power manufacturing in Kosovo is from lignite, a comfortable coal that produces poisonous air pollution when burnt.Official figures present Kosovo has the world's fifth largest lignite reserves of 12-14 billion tonnes.