Sweden

Bitcoin Will Face Tougher Regulation as Popularity Grows, Says Sweden’s Central Banker

02/06/2021 by Idelto Editor

Bitcoin Will Face Tougher Regulation as Its Popularity Grows, Says Sweden's Central Banker

The Swedish central bank’s governor says bitcoin will face tougher regulation given its sheer popularity that continues to grow. “When something gets big enough, things like consumer interests and money laundering come into play,” said Stefan Ingves, Governor of the Riksbank.

Tougher Regulation Expected for Bitcoin

Stefan Ingves, the governor of Sweden’s central bank, the Riksbank, said Monday that bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are unlikely to escape regulatory oversight due to their sheer popularity, Bloomberg reported.

Even though regulators have voiced their concerns about bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, they continue to gain popularity. They have attracted the biggest financial institutions to enter the space, including major investment banks Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, which now offer crypto investments to their clients. A growing number of companies now accept bitcoin for payments, offer crypto-related services, and put BTC on their balance sheets. Goldman Sachs recently said that bitcoin has become a new asset class, seeing huge institutional demand for the cryptocurrency. Bitcoin’s market cap recently surpassed a trillion dollars.

Governor Ingves opined:

When something gets big enough, things like consumer interests and money laundering come into play. So there’s good reason to believe that [regulation] will happen.

Sweden’s Minister for Financial Markets, Asa Lindhagen, revealed the government is already working on tightening the standards for crypto exchanges, the publication conveyed. However, she noted that it is a “work in progress at the international level,” pointing out that cross-border cooperation with other governments is necessary to address the risk of money laundering involving cryptocurrencies.

Riksbank Deputy Governor Per Jansson raised concerns on Tuesday that the price of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies keeps fluctuating excessively and they have “nothing concrete or substantial” underpinning their actual value.

What do you think about the comments by the Swedish central banker? Let us know in the comments section below.

Sweden Riksbank Governor: Bitcoin Unlikely To Dodge Regulation For Long

01/06/2021 by Idelto Editor

Sweden’s central bank governor Stefan Ingves stated that Bitcoin is unlikely to continue escaping regulatory oversight as it responds to Bitcoin’s growing popularity.

The growing popularity of Bitcoin has led the governor of Sweden’s central bank to state that the peer-to-peer digital cash system is unlikely to continue escaping regulatory oversight, reported Bloomberg.

“When something gets big enough, things like consumer interests and money laundering come into play,” Riksbank Governor Stefan Ingves told Bloomberg on Monday. “So there’s good reason to believe that [regulation] will happen.”

The form such regulation will take is unclear. However, Sweden’s financial markets minister Asa Lindhagen also joined the conversation, pointing out that the government is in the process of tightening standards for bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies exchanges –– which she called a “work in progress at the international level,” according to Bloomberg.

Lindhagen also highlighted the government’s concern with bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies being used for money laundering, something she sees as a “very important issue” that will require cross-border work. Additionally, the head of Sweden’s financial regulator Erik Thedeen commented that “it’s quite evident that some form of regulation is needed.”

Sweden’s coordinated attempt to regulate Bitcoin becomes clearer when their fiat currency plans for the future are brought to light. The Nordic country is one of the more advanced countries globally to develop a central bank digital currency (CBDC), as Ingves stated in April that Sweden could have a CBDC within five years. Such a move would likely end cash, and the Swedish government does not want bitcoin filling in the void.

Although Sweden can attempt to regulate Bitcoin, the country is unlikely to succeed. Being a decentralized, global, peer-to-peer monetary network, Bitcoin was built to circumvent the scrutiny of national authorities and therefore cannot be entirely restricted. Countries can only regulate the edges of the system, i.e., exchanges and banks that operate around it, but that wouldn’t stop citizens from interacting with and leveraging Bitcoin –– as Nigeria has recently shown.

Central Bank of Sweden Invites Financial Market Actors for Second Phase of E-krona Pilot

30/05/2021 by Idelto Editor

Sveriges Riksbank, the central bank of Sweden, will carry out the next stage of its e-krona project with the help of two organizations from the financial sector. The move signals a transition from the initial in-house testing with simulated participants to cooperation with real, external partners.

Riksbank to Work With Handelsbanken and Tietoevry to Test E-krona

The main task during the new phase of the pilot will be to trial “the technical solution for the e-krona” with the participation of real market entities. To accomplish this, Riksbank has invited Handelsbanken, one of the country’s major banking institutions, and Tietoevry, a digital services and software company. In an announcement published Friday, the regulator noted:

Involving external actors as participants in the test environment will make it possible for the Riksbank to evaluate the integration between the participants’ existing systems and the technical platform for the e-krona pilot.

One of the elements that will be tested is the integration of the payment flows developed during the first year of the pilot with the internal systems of the new participants, Riksbank explained. The partners will simulate how banks might interact with the e-krona infrastructure, Tietoevry detailed in a separate press release, elaborating:

Tietoevry will develop and test the process of interchangeability between commercial money and e-kronor and analyse how this can be carried out securely and efficiently.

The Finland-headquartered company also noted its “unique position in the Nordic financial ecosystem” thanks to a large customer base consisting of banks and payment providers. Over 70% of all Nordic bank transfers go through its payment systems and the fintech enables the leading mobile payment providers in Sweden, Norway and Finland.

Central Bank of Sweden to Integrate E-krona With Existing Banking Infrastructure

“Our role in the Swedish payment infrastructure is well established, and Tietoevry is a natural partner when exploring how to integrate a digital currency with existing banking infrastructure,” said Christian Segersven, head of financial services solutions and software development. “We are looking forward to supporting this journey towards an inclusive digital currency that will open up for innovative and secure services,” he added.

Svenska Handelsbanken, the other partner to get involved in the second stage of the e-krona pilot, is one of Sweden’s largest banks, with more than 400 branches across the country. Founded in 1871, it’s also the oldest company listed on the Swedish stock exchange. In the past couple of decades, Handelsbanken has been expanding its operations in other countries in the region as well as Netherlands and the U.K., where it has over 200 branches.

Sweden’s plan to issue a central bank digital currency (CBDC) dates back to a few years ago. Towards the end of 2020, the government in Stockholm began exploring the feasibility of digitalizing the national fiat, the Swedish krona. Arguably, the Scandinavian country has already built the world’s most cashless society. The review should be conducted within two years of its launch.

Last month, Riksbank announced the completion of the first phase of the study and released a report which highlighted the continuing decline of cash usage in the country. The central bank of Sweden emphasized the need to proceed with the project and facilitate the involvement of market actors expected to take part in the testing now and join the e-krona network in the future.

What do you think about Riksbank’s plan to digitalize the Swedish krona? Let us know in the comments section below.

Record-Low Electricity Prices in Sweden Make It ‘a Lucrative Place’ to Mine Bitcoin, Says Report

01/01/2021 by Idelto Editor

Record-Low Electricity Prices in the Nordic Region Make It 'a Lucrative Place' to Mine Bitcoin, Says Report

Bitcoin miners are finding the Nordic lands a profitable opportunity to boost their revenues due to a plunge in electricity prices at the cheapest levels than any other well-known places for crypto mining.

Bitcoin Miners Could Find ‘Lucrative’ Opportunities in Norway and Sweden

According to a Bloomberg report, the Nordic region, specifically Norway and Sweden, has seen mild weather in the last 20 years, which helped boost production from hydroelectric plants.

As the long-lasting weather trend has been alive in the region for several years, it’s helping in some way to leave the area awash in generation capacity, which keeps the prices close to zero “for extended periods,” Bloomberg details, which also adds that average prices saw so far this year “are about a third of those in Germany,” that is considered the biggest power market in Europe.

Tor Reier Lilleholt, head of analysis at Norwegian consultant Wattsight AS, told Bloomberg:

These prices are some of the lowest you can find in the world if you disregard fees and taxes. What we saw this summer was that the low levels registered over such a long time.

Traditional crypto mining hotspots are based in China, Kazakhstan, and Canada, but the dynamics could have a turnaround, says Bloomberg, which also coincides with the current crypto bull-run. Norway is also a well-known country for its lower electricity prices for industrial users and non-households in the European Union (EU).

Carbon-Free Electricity in the Nordic Region

But lower prices in the Nordic region are not only an attractive bait for crypto miners, as the electricity in these countries is almost carbon-free (a combination of hydro, nuclear, and wind power), riding with the current environmental policies trends across the world.

The article explains further the technical aspect that could favor crypto miners in the Nordic region due to the lower prices:

The cost of power is poised to become even more significant for miners. The hash-rate, the amount of calculation needed to produce each coin, is steadily increasing. And in May, miners’ rewards were cut by a so-called halving, a reduction in the amount of tokens they receive as a way to maintain scarcity.

Tyler Page, business development manager at Bitfury, commented on the spike in the interest of bitcoin mining in Norway:

We have seen a notable up-tick in investor appetite for bitcoin mining opportunities in Norway. This year’s energy prices were particularly low as bitcoin prices have increased.

What are your thoughts about the Nordic Region as an attractive hotspot for crypto miners? Let us know in the comments section below.

The post Record-Low Electricity Prices in Sweden Make It ‘a Lucrative Place’ to Mine Bitcoin, Says Report appeared first on Bitcoin News.

Genesis Mining Is Converting Excess Bitcoin Datacenter Heat Into Greenhouse Power in Sweden

20/12/2020 by Idelto Editor

One of the largest bitcoin mining operations in the world, Genesis Mining, has been working on an experiment with Systemair, Lulea Technical University, Research Institute of Sweden, and the local Boden municipality. The teams in Sweden are developing a system that converts excess heat from Genesis’s bitcoin mining to power greenhouse operations.

Bitcoin mining is extremely competitive and the network consumes a lot of electricity to secure transactions and mint new coins. For instance, the Cambridge Bitcoin Electricity Consumption Index (CBECI) shows that the Bitcoin (BTC) hashrate consumes an estimated 12.54GW and an annualized consumption level of around 88.14TWh. Out of 20 mining pools, there’s a whopping 150 exahash per second (EH/s) pointed at the BTC chain.

This week, Genesis Mining, revealed a new innovative project the firm is working on with a few teams. Genesis has been working in Boden, Sweden, a large region located around the coastal city Lulea with four groups. Systemair, the local Boden municipality, Lulea Technical University, and the Research Institute of Sweden in a partnership with Genesis have been developing a system that converts excess mining heat into greenhouse power. The pilot aims to recycle excess energy from bitcoin mining into sustainable heat sources.

According to the participants, the pilot plans to address supporting Sweden’s objective toward self-sufficient food production. The study is being promoted by Genesis Mining’s philanthropic arm dubbed “Hashpower For Science.” Mattias Vesterlund, Senior Researcher at RISE (Research Institutes of Sweden) explained how the project can achieve self-sufficient production models.

“A 1 MW datacenter would have the ability to strengthen the local self-sufficiency up to 8% with products that are competitive on the market,” Vesterlund detailed. Genesis Mining’s custom-built crypto mining storage containers will be located adjacent to the greenhouse. The container is tethered to the greenhouse by leveraging a custom-built air duct system that carries the miner’s excess heat.

Marco Streng the cofounder and CEO of Genesis Mining said that decentralized applications will transform the world, “but all those benefits can’t come at the cost of the environment.” “Genesis Mining has always preferred locations that offered 100% renewable energy sources, that’s why we’ve focused so much on the Nordics,” Streng detailed. But as the industry leader, we view it as our moral and ethical responsibility to push the industry forward, and finding a way to convert our excess energy has been a major priority.”

Streng further added:

We look forward to scaling this project and bringing it to not only more of our own datacenters — but to others as well.

A Senior Lecturer from Lulea Technical University, Andreas Johansson, has been making calculations based on the project’s design and Sweden’s cold climate.

“For the cold climate in the north of Sweden, our calculations show that a 300 m2 greenhouse can easily be heated with a 550 kW container, even with outdoor temperatures reaching almost -30℃,” the lecturer said. But the potential is much bigger than that. The temperature difference over the greenhouse is in this calculation only 10 degrees since we assume a DC output temp of 35℃ and a GH temp of 25℃. If the DC output is increased to 55℃, then the GH area can be tripled to 900 m2.”

Genesis and the teams in Sweden are not the only people who have thought of leveraging excess heat from bitcoin miners. Two years ago a French firm named Qarnot released a home heater called the “Crypto-Heater or QC-1” that heats a room in your home while the user mines crypto assets.

Some people have devised ways to utilize excess mining heat to do certain things like heat up a garage or distill alcoholic beverages. Ethereum miners have been used to heat homes and a few Russian babushkas not only mined BTC in the province of Siberia but also used the miners for heat. Bitcoin miners have utilized excess mining heat to grow tomatoes.

Genesis Mining and members of the project also hosted a webinar about developing the hybrid bitcoin mining greenhouse system. News.Bitcoin.com readers can check out the video of the webinar below.

What do you think about Genesis Mining working in Sweden to develop a greenhouse powered by excess bitcoin mining heat? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below.

The post Genesis Mining Is Converting Excess Bitcoin Datacenter Heat Into Greenhouse Power in Sweden appeared first on Bitcoin News.