Oddbean

Norway has one of the most progressive views on energy and its commercialization in the world. They actively try to export their socialistic approach to energy commercialization to the rest of the world. It is not surprising that they view bitcoin mining negatively given that bitcoin mining is difficult for any State apparatus to administer and manage. It will be difficult for them to maintain this position over time but I am bearish on Norway being on the leading edge of jurisdictions embracing bitcoin mining.

We can be bearish, but the main question if we are trying at all change it? Majority of the comments on my post with conclusions “let them ban it and then we will see”. I truly believe it is a huge mistake and misunderstanding of the consequences. Everyone who said in the past - let’s do not care about human rights, how bad regulations affects human rights and just move to other jurisdictions at the end of their experience understood - regimes able to reach them in the every place in the world. Same here: Norwegian regulatory standards will be used as an example for the EU single market, through OECD globally. #Bitcoin is the same human right as others, it is people behind the technology, its developers, investors, miners and end-users. Bitcoin is not getting funds from the authoritarian world, simply because it is a threat to dictatorship by default. So why you should allow to restrict it while you have all privileges to impact your regulators and change their approach? It is a matter of responsibility, investment of your time and resources, just like US bitcoin community is doing, and achieving significant success. Without just being complaining or being ignorant.

Not everywhere will be the first. The cost of convincing is real both in actual cost terms as well as opportunity cost terms. Texas is huge for bitcoin … tons of waste, curtailed, and spare energy in a favorable political / regulatory regime. I’d expect that Texas’s success will be more convincing for other regimes missing out than the pleas of a small group of passionate citizens. Regimes will get FOMO…good thing for you is that Norway is sophisticated so they’ll be one of the first regimes to realize what they’re missing.

Texas bitcoiners have a lot of challenges with local and federal policymakers too, but they ADDRESS THEM, they really fight for their rights and GETTING RESULTS. That is my main point :) you work and show PoW. Or you don’t work and there is no PoW.