The abolition of benefits for miners in Norway can bring the state more than $14 million in revenue.
Norwegian Finance Minister Trygve Slagsvold Vedum proposed to the government to cancel the program that allows data centers engaged in the extraction of digital currencies to pay for electricity at a reduced rate. The initiative was put forward on October 6, and the official called the increasing demand for electricity in some regions of the country the main reason:
"Now we are in a completely different situation in the electricity market than in 2016, when benefits for miners were introduced. In many regions, electricity supply is now under pressure from demand, which leads to an increase in prices. We are also seeing an increase in the production of cryptocurrencies in Norway. We need these capacities to provide citizens with electricity."
The proposal is also motivated by a recent report on the Norwegian national budget for 2023: the Finance minister said that imposing standard electricity tax rates on miners could bring in more than $14 million in revenue.
Now Norway is popular with miners who mine cryptocurrencies using 100% renewable energy sources and providing 0.74% of the global hashrate of bitcoin. However, many locals do not like the impact that miners have on the environment.
Earlier, the Central Bank of Norway launched a sandbox for testing the state cryptocurrency.
