Topic: Iceland to use more energy mining bitcoin than powering its homes this year (Read 178 times)
February 13, 2018, 01:35:30 PM
The way I see it is as long as they are using renewable energy and not affecting the lives of its local citizens it won't bother anyone as it will also mean a good influx of national income for Iceland as this mining companies will surely pay well. They are just taking advantage of the location as it will mean less cost for them to run their operations. Hopefully the government will also monitor the situation in order for these companies not to abuse the country.
February 13, 2018, 01:31:19 PM
Here is another article on Iceland and bitcoin mining:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/feb/13/how-iceland-became-the-bitcoin-miners-paradise
I like the way they stress that it's all renewable electricity - it should go some way to killing the "bitcoin is bad for the environment" stories.
those comments about btc and the environment won't disappear since most of the time they don't serve another purpose other than to attack bitcoin, so people will keep repeating the same nonsense.https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/feb/13/how-iceland-became-the-bitcoin-miners-paradise
I like the way they stress that it's all renewable electricity - it should go some way to killing the "bitcoin is bad for the environment" stories.
About the article, I wouldn't be surprised to see bitcoin mining becoming a real thing in Iceland in the near future, these kind of small countries need to attract investors, and it seems like they found something they can take advantage of in order to attract new money: renewable energy. Who would've thought that such a small country could have the potential to become a miners paradise?.
Also ,what's with the "mining bitcoin in iceland" articles in the british media over the last few days? it kinda looks like some kind of advertisement campaign so that miners can start paying attention to the benefits of mining in that country...maybe that's just me.
February 13, 2018, 01:13:57 PM
Good for Iceland. Maybe they expand their grid or push the price of electricity up.
But either way expansion of crypto is certain. There is always the way.
But either way expansion of crypto is certain. There is always the way.
February 13, 2018, 01:08:59 PM
This is good news for crypto world actually you see more governments and big companies like Samsung getting attention of bitcoin and cryptocurrencies and this is what we need right now , is that cryptocurrencies get more attention from more citizens of this world and also big companies have to be involved directly with crypto world . If we want to keep this field busy and increasing the potential and the market we have to see this encouragement from governments .
February 13, 2018, 01:01:00 PM
Now is the right time for these companies to take notice of the energy that they could get (and use) from Iceland for cryptomining. You can say that this island's existence and purpose is for the use of cryptomining. That article and the others that will follow through should emphasize that they will be using energy that is eco-friendly and provide minimal harm to our environment. If the reader look at it with negative set of eyes, they'll just think that BTC mining (and other form of it) will just harm its environment and provide burden for our planet.
February 13, 2018, 12:46:31 PM
Hardly surprising to be fair given that Iceland has a low total population and also offers cheap electricity. 1 mining farm alone probably consumes more than the population
February 13, 2018, 12:29:55 PM
Here is another article on Iceland and bitcoin mining:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/feb/13/how-iceland-became-the-bitcoin-miners-paradise
I like the way they stress that it's all renewable electricity - it should go some way to killing the "bitcoin is bad for the environment" stories.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/feb/13/how-iceland-became-the-bitcoin-miners-paradise
I like the way they stress that it's all renewable electricity - it should go some way to killing the "bitcoin is bad for the environment" stories.
February 11, 2018, 06:39:22 PM
Iceland's electricity supply is totally sustainable and surplus energy generated from geothermal and hydroelectric plants are
100% "Green". Why should they waste that electricity on central heating, if they could fire up some miners and generate
enough heat to warm their houses. Their climate is also ideally suited for Bitcoin mining.
.... The Tree huggers will flame
us for the contribution to global warming and the melting of the ice caps... but we doing it in any way with central heating.
If mining companies move to Iceland, they should be really cautious with the internet connection, because Iceland is an island, so if some Tree huggers cut the internet cable at the bottom of the sea, just to sabotage the minig farms, they should have a plan B to connect to the network 100% "Green". Why should they waste that electricity on central heating, if they could fire up some miners and generate
enough heat to warm their houses. Their climate is also ideally suited for Bitcoin mining.
.... The Tree huggers will flameus for the contribution to global warming and the melting of the ice caps... but we doing it in any way with central heating.
(I know that the worst case scenario could be a satellite based internet connection, but anyway )I just remember that at the end of last year there were news about Russia, where they offered to re-open an already closed old nuclear plant to feed the mining farms with energy, and also they have highlighted that the climate is pretty cool for the miners (it's freezing in the summer too)
February 11, 2018, 01:29:55 PM
Iceland's electricity supply is totally sustainable and surplus energy generated from geothermal and hydroelectric plants are
100% "Green". Why should they waste that electricity on central heating, if they could fire up some miners and generate
enough heat to warm their houses. Their climate is also ideally suited for Bitcoin mining. .... The Tree huggers will flame
us for the contribution to global warming and the melting of the ice caps... but we doing it in any way with central heating.
100% "Green". Why should they waste that electricity on central heating, if they could fire up some miners and generate
enough heat to warm their houses. Their climate is also ideally suited for Bitcoin mining.
.... The Tree huggers will flameus for the contribution to global warming and the melting of the ice caps... but we doing it in any way with central heating.
February 11, 2018, 01:21:28 PM
This isn't surprising. 4 years ago, iceland experimented with auroracoin.
Iceland has also been known to prosecute and imprison bankers who are guilty of high risk ventures which threaten the stability of their economy:
Iceland appears to have a history of prizing independence and justice, it makes sense they would embrace crypto. They also don't cater to special interests or bankers the way other nations do.
I'm going to go out on a limb here and predict that Hungary, and whichever other nations booted central banker organizations like the IMF out of their country, will be next to embrace bitcoin & crypto. Mostly because of events like this in their past history:
If I remember right, Hungary did succeed in kicking the IMF out of the country, although it didn't receive coverage from mainstream news.
For nations like Hungary who are looking for routes to economic independence from banks, it may represent a natural progression for them to adopt a pro crypto stance and support bitcoin.
Iceland has also been known to prosecute and imprison bankers who are guilty of high risk ventures which threaten the stability of their economy:
Quote
Iceland is the only nation that put top finance executives behind bars after the 2008 crisis. Still, fears of crony capitalism remain.
Kviabryggja Prison in western Iceland doesn’t need walls, razor wire, or guard towers to keep the convicts inside. Alone on a wind-swept cape, the old farmhouse is bound by the frigid North Atlantic on one side and fields of snow-covered lava rock on another. To the east looms Snaefellsjokull, a dormant volcano blanketed by a glacier. There’s only one road back to civilization.
This is where the world’s only bank chiefs imprisoned in connection with the 2008 financial crisis are serving their sentences. Kviabryggja is home to Sigurdur Einarsson, Kaupthing Bank’s onetime chairman, and Hreidar Mar Sigurdsson, the bank’s former chief executive officer, who were convicted of market manipulation and fraud shortly before the collapse of what was then Iceland’s No. 1 lender. They spend their days doing laundry, working out in the jailhouse gym, and browsing the Internet. They and two associates incarcerated here—Magnus Gudmundsson, the ex-CEO of Kaupthing’s Luxembourg unit, and Olafur Olafsson, the No. 2 stockholder in the bank at the time of its demise—can even take walks outside, like Kviabryggja’s 19 other inmates, all of whom were convicted of nonviolent crimes.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/timworstall/2015/10/24/if-iceland-can-jail-bankers-for-the-crash-then-why-cant-america/
Kviabryggja Prison in western Iceland doesn’t need walls, razor wire, or guard towers to keep the convicts inside. Alone on a wind-swept cape, the old farmhouse is bound by the frigid North Atlantic on one side and fields of snow-covered lava rock on another. To the east looms Snaefellsjokull, a dormant volcano blanketed by a glacier. There’s only one road back to civilization.
This is where the world’s only bank chiefs imprisoned in connection with the 2008 financial crisis are serving their sentences. Kviabryggja is home to Sigurdur Einarsson, Kaupthing Bank’s onetime chairman, and Hreidar Mar Sigurdsson, the bank’s former chief executive officer, who were convicted of market manipulation and fraud shortly before the collapse of what was then Iceland’s No. 1 lender. They spend their days doing laundry, working out in the jailhouse gym, and browsing the Internet. They and two associates incarcerated here—Magnus Gudmundsson, the ex-CEO of Kaupthing’s Luxembourg unit, and Olafur Olafsson, the No. 2 stockholder in the bank at the time of its demise—can even take walks outside, like Kviabryggja’s 19 other inmates, all of whom were convicted of nonviolent crimes.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/timworstall/2015/10/24/if-iceland-can-jail-bankers-for-the-crash-then-why-cant-america/
Iceland appears to have a history of prizing independence and justice, it makes sense they would embrace crypto. They also don't cater to special interests or bankers the way other nations do.
I'm going to go out on a limb here and predict that Hungary, and whichever other nations booted central banker organizations like the IMF out of their country, will be next to embrace bitcoin & crypto. Mostly because of events like this in their past history:
Quote
Hungary Wants to Throw Out IMF
A long-running dispute between Hungary and the International Monetary Fund escalated on Monday when the head of the country's central bank called on the IMF to close its office in Budapest, saying it was no longer needed.
July 15, 2013 06:12 PM Print FeedbackComment
Relations between the government of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and the International Monetary Fund have never been especially good. Now they have hit rock bottom.
Orbán's former economy minister and current central bank governor, Gyorgy Matolcsy, wrote a letter to IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde on Monday calling on the fund to close its representative office in Budapest as it was "not necessary to maintain" it any longer.
Hungary owes its economic survival to the IMF. When the country was caught up in the global financial crisis in 2008, the fund and the EU came to the rescue with a €20 billion ($26 billion) loan. At the time, Orbán's predecessor was in office.
Ever since Orbán became prime minister in 2010, Hungary has had trouble with international institutions. His government pushed through a new constitution and many laws that curtailed democracy, the powers of the constitutional court, the justice system and press freedoms. The EU responded by launching several proceedings against Hungary for breaching EU treaties.
In early July, the European Parliament passed a resolution calling on Hungary to repeal the "anti-democratic changes." Orbán angrily dismissed the demands as "Soviet-style" meddling.
Hungary Says Will Repay IMF Loan This Year
Under Orbán, all negotiations with the IMF about fresh aid have failed. On Monday, central bank chief Matolcsy said the country didn't need the IMF's money and that Hungary would repay the 2008 loan in full by the end of this year.
He said the government had succeeded in pushing its budget deficit below the EU ceiling of 3 percent of GDP and had reduced government debt.
Matolcsy is the architect of Orbán's unorthodox economic policy which is based on imposing heavy special taxes on large companies. He became central bank governor four months ago.
The Hungarian economy shrank by 1.7 percent last year. The EU Commission expects it to return to weak growth in 2013. The budget deficit is expected to rise again, back up to 3 percent of GDP.
http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/hungary-calls-on-imf-to-close-its-budapest-office-a-911250.html
A long-running dispute between Hungary and the International Monetary Fund escalated on Monday when the head of the country's central bank called on the IMF to close its office in Budapest, saying it was no longer needed.
July 15, 2013 06:12 PM Print FeedbackComment
Relations between the government of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and the International Monetary Fund have never been especially good. Now they have hit rock bottom.
Orbán's former economy minister and current central bank governor, Gyorgy Matolcsy, wrote a letter to IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde on Monday calling on the fund to close its representative office in Budapest as it was "not necessary to maintain" it any longer.
Hungary owes its economic survival to the IMF. When the country was caught up in the global financial crisis in 2008, the fund and the EU came to the rescue with a €20 billion ($26 billion) loan. At the time, Orbán's predecessor was in office.
Ever since Orbán became prime minister in 2010, Hungary has had trouble with international institutions. His government pushed through a new constitution and many laws that curtailed democracy, the powers of the constitutional court, the justice system and press freedoms. The EU responded by launching several proceedings against Hungary for breaching EU treaties.
In early July, the European Parliament passed a resolution calling on Hungary to repeal the "anti-democratic changes." Orbán angrily dismissed the demands as "Soviet-style" meddling.
Hungary Says Will Repay IMF Loan This Year
Under Orbán, all negotiations with the IMF about fresh aid have failed. On Monday, central bank chief Matolcsy said the country didn't need the IMF's money and that Hungary would repay the 2008 loan in full by the end of this year.
He said the government had succeeded in pushing its budget deficit below the EU ceiling of 3 percent of GDP and had reduced government debt.
Matolcsy is the architect of Orbán's unorthodox economic policy which is based on imposing heavy special taxes on large companies. He became central bank governor four months ago.
The Hungarian economy shrank by 1.7 percent last year. The EU Commission expects it to return to weak growth in 2013. The budget deficit is expected to rise again, back up to 3 percent of GDP.
http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/hungary-calls-on-imf-to-close-its-budapest-office-a-911250.html
If I remember right, Hungary did succeed in kicking the IMF out of the country, although it didn't receive coverage from mainstream news.
For nations like Hungary who are looking for routes to economic independence from banks, it may represent a natural progression for them to adopt a pro crypto stance and support bitcoin.
February 11, 2018, 01:02:11 PM
That's a very good news.
It could for sure push the price of Bitcoins up ..
You know there are many countries which are into renewable sources of energy and they do have a great potential to be the hub of Bitcoins
Other countries like Costa Rica , Sweden , UK , Germany, Denmark , Morocco , Kenya could follow the foot steps.. and it could profit everyone a lot .
Since In these countries renewable sources of energies are prominent.. thus it could be awesome to see the growth.
I don't know why people can't unite and present some formal idea in front of government.
It could for sure push the price of Bitcoins up ..
You know there are many countries which are into renewable sources of energy and they do have a great potential to be the hub of Bitcoins
Other countries like Costa Rica , Sweden , UK , Germany, Denmark , Morocco , Kenya could follow the foot steps.. and it could profit everyone a lot .
Since In these countries renewable sources of energies are prominent.. thus it could be awesome to see the growth.
I don't know why people can't unite and present some formal idea in front of government.
February 11, 2018, 12:55:54 PM
Efficient use of excess power harnessed from Geothermal and hydro electricity to geneate cryptocurrencies that would inturn be circulated within the Icelandic economy would add to their GDP, would also inturn create more employment opportunities for local residents and also since the temperatures are pretty low during certain parts of the year, it's a good destination to have a mining farm setup.
About the taxation worries, it's normal to tax any business for the profits that they make. In the long run even with the taxes being paid, the miners could still make plenty of profits depending on the mining capacity.
This argument by the individual sounds kind of off to me, Money in your bank isn't tangible when you use it via plastic cards but it has several non-financial uses. They could be increasing money inflow into the economy and make them self-sustaining in the long run. Also, most of the heat generated from the mining farms can be used to heat nearby localities or houses or be used for other useful purposes.
Quote
The growth has prompted Smari McCarthy, a lawmaker for Iceland’s Pirate Party, to suggest taxing the profits of bitcoin mines.
About the taxation worries, it's normal to tax any business for the profits that they make. In the long run even with the taxes being paid, the miners could still make plenty of profits depending on the mining capacity.
Quote
‘We are spending tens or maybe hundreds of megawatts on producing something that has no tangible existence and no real use for humans outside the realm of financial speculation,’
This argument by the individual sounds kind of off to me, Money in your bank isn't tangible when you use it via plastic cards but it has several non-financial uses. They could be increasing money inflow into the economy and make them self-sustaining in the long run. Also, most of the heat generated from the mining farms can be used to heat nearby localities or houses or be used for other useful purposes.
February 11, 2018, 12:46:57 PM
Their population is so low only a hand full of them would need to be mining big time to achieve that
February 11, 2018, 12:41:19 PM
http://metro.co.uk/2018/02/11/iceland-use-energy-mining-bitcoin-powering-homes-year-7304155/
I'm happy that Iceland might become the new mining base for bitcoin. They are a democracy, their energy is eco friendly, and they had a horrendous time after the great financial crash, so they deserve some good news.
Quote
Iceland is expected to use more energy mining bitcoin than powering its homes this year.
Large virtual currency mining companies have established a base on the island, which has an abundance of geothermal and hydroelectric power plants.
And with massive amounts of energy needed to run the computers that create bitcoins, it is seen as an ideal base.
Johann Snorri Sigurbergsson, business development manager at the energy company Hitaveita Sudurnesja, said he expected Iceland’s virtual currency mining to double its energy consumption to around 100 megawatts this year.
That is more than households use on the island nation of 340,000, according to Iceland’s National Energy Authority.
Large virtual currency mining companies have established a base on the island, which has an abundance of geothermal and hydroelectric power plants.
And with massive amounts of energy needed to run the computers that create bitcoins, it is seen as an ideal base.
Johann Snorri Sigurbergsson, business development manager at the energy company Hitaveita Sudurnesja, said he expected Iceland’s virtual currency mining to double its energy consumption to around 100 megawatts this year.
That is more than households use on the island nation of 340,000, according to Iceland’s National Energy Authority.
I'm happy that Iceland might become the new mining base for bitcoin. They are a democracy, their energy is eco friendly, and they had a horrendous time after the great financial crash, so they deserve some good news.
Jump to: