Technological mining does not cause that much harm to environment. It is not literally the same with mining concerning land and minerals. It only uses electicity and ofcourse equipments. If it is only electricity which is concerned, then governments could demand miners to use solar panels. Also, it is another thing if prohibition is directly towards usage of cryptocurrency. An individual can mine Bitcoin and be not allowed to use it for daily transactions, as simple as that. Governments are just wanting taxes and they just cannot do it with currencies other than taxation. Sk if it is mining alone, then I guess it would be a blurry reason for them to ban such activity, especially if it won't be announced and such.
Of course. Governments could force miners to rely on alternative energy sources to reduce carbon emissions as much as possible. But I see they're using the "high energy consumption" narrative as an excuse to get rid of Bitcoin for good. And what better way than banning PoW mining altogether? The EU already banned Bitcoin mining due to "environmental concerns", so what makes you think the US won't do the same as world countries try to fight climate change?
The pressure is already mounting on Bitcoin, as many cryptocurrencies are switching to PoS without second thoughts. Imagine what would happen if Bitcoin were the only PoW cryptocurrency in the world. Most countries will ban it, greatly reducing worldwide adoption. No one knows what the future holds for the cryptocurrency so we can only hope for the best. Just my thoughts
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