Bank of Sweden Calls for a Ban on Bitcoin to Protect the Environment

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The Riksbank has published a report “Cryptocurrencies and their impact on financial stability,” in which it has shared the results of its own research on mining on the Proof-of-Work consensus algorithm.

The Swedish central bank has called for a ban on Bitcoin and other Proof-of-Work cryptocurrencies due to environmental impact. According to the document, the energy consumption of this mining method is equal to 200,000 households.

Bitcoin maximalist Knut Svanholm has said:

“The central bank has no right to tell people what to do with their electricity. If they really cared about the environment, they would close their operations tomorrow morning.”

In response to the Riksbank tweet, he has also posted a video about Bitcoin mining, which claims that the energy used to mine the first cryptocurrency is “not wasted.”