Iceland: From Bitcoin Mining Center To Food Sovereignty

Iceland is now prioritizing food instead of mining bitcoin. (Photo; Doc. MotorhomeIceland)

JAKARTA - Iceland, a country known as the Bitcoin mining center, is now on the verge of major changes. Iceland's Prime Minister, Katrwas Jakobsd badminton, has expressed his concern about the large energy consumption of Bitcoin mining operations. He promised to divert some of that energy to strengthen the country's food sovereignty.

In an interview with the Financial Times, Jakobsdmartir explained that the country is trying to achieve carbon neutrality. Renewable energy must be re-allocated to supply energy to 375,000 Icelandics.

Jakobsdmartir insists that Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, which use "a lot of energy," are not "part of the mission." It is estimated that Bitcoin miners and data centers consume more than 120 MW of energy in Iceland, more than that consumed by all combined households.

Winter has affected energy delivery to the country's hydroelectric power plant. This has led the food processing plant to switch to a dirty energy source to keep operating, something that has been qualified as "unacceptable" by Gumenulaugur

Jakobsd badminton details the difficulty of growing crops in Iceland. He stated, "It's not easy to become a farmer in Iceland. The pitch is not wide. But this is an important part of our strategy for security in this world."

Jakobsd badminton did not specify what methods or regulations would be applied to achieve this shift. However, he mentioned that the state would start planting corn, stressing that this had never been tried before although technically it was possible.

This situation is nothing new for Iceland. In December 2021, Landsvirkjun, Iceland's national electricity company, began rejecting energy demand from new companies in the cryptocurrency mining industry due to limitations in its distribution system.

With this change, Iceland hopes to achieve their goal of creating a more sustainable environment and strengthening their food sovereignty.