ESMA Vice-CHAIR: EU Should Ban Mining, Encourage Proof of Stake

Erik Thedéen, who is Vice-Chair of the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has reportedly told the Financial Times that EU countries should ban proof-of-work mining, and instead “nudge” the industry to adopt proof-of-stake.

Thedéen cited concerns from his native Sweden, where last year authorities discussed the possibility of banning mining due to the increasing amount of renewable energy resources that were being used for proof-of-work cryptos, such as bitcoin and ethereum. During the latter half of 2021, Sweden’s Financial Services Authority called for an EU-wide ban on cryptocurrency mining.

Cryptocurrency mining has become a controversial topic recently internationally, attracting attention from politicians and environmentalists, due to the amount of energy required for the process.

However, some bitcoin proponents assert that mining does not have as much of an impact as claimed, or that bitcoin could utilize “otherwise-wasted energy sources“.

While this may be the case, the reality remains that blockchains using proof-of-stake to reach network consensus consume orders of magnitude less energy than proof-of-work cryptocurrencies.

See Also

Coinbase Fights for Clear Crypto Regulations, Files Legal Action Against SEC

If you’re interested in learning which cryptocurrencies are the most energy-efficient, read our article here.

What’s your opinion? Should POW be replaced by POS? Do POW and POS serve different purposes, and can they continue to exist side by side?