"Serbs in north Kosovo have been using massive amounts of energy to mine crypto coins, so the ban is also meant to address that," they added, speaking to TRT World.ĭr Shyqyri Haxha from Royal Holloway University in London and a researcher in the Department of Electronic Engineering has mixed feelings about the approach taken by the Kosovo government. The new directive, however, will also seek to address chronic theft.
One activist in Kosovo who wishes to remain anonymous and is familiar with the government's decision-making said that "we are in the middle of an energy crisis, so the ban makes practical sense." That made it hugely attractive for those wanting to get rich quickly. In recent years, Kosovo has become somewhat of a hub for crypto mining, particularly the north of the country, which is Serb dominated and has refused to recognise the central government's authority.įor the last 22 years, residents in the north of Kosovo paid little to nothing for electricity owing to the difficulty central authorities have had to integrate the region into the rest of the republic.
The downside is that enormous amounts of energy is consumed in the process. The rewards are potentially very lucrative. Owners of the machines are then rewarded with newly generated currency if they successfully solve complex mathematical equations which are validated by peers on the network. When mining cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, computers - also called "mining machines" - are connected to the internet to verify transactions between cryptocurrency users around the world. Such is the energy crunch facing the country that a 60-day state of emergency has been declared by the government.Īs energy prices have soared in Europe, Kosovo has had to implement rolling blackouts to manage the country's energy supply.
The country has struggled to produce enough energy in recent weeks to meet demand after a power station went offline in December, forcing the government to import more than 40 percent of its energy. Kosovo has sought to address the country's growing energy crisis by instituting an immediate ban on crypto mining. Not everyone is convinced that the measure will resolve Kosovo's energy crises. An energy crisis in the country has been compounded by a booming industry in crypto mining.
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