BTC in jeopardy: the European Commission's approach threatens the EU mining ban

The European Commission (EC) has faced criticism from the crypto community for its proposed calculations and ways to mitigate BTC “environmental” impacts.

CH4 Capital co-founder Daniel Batten expressed concern that the European Commission’s approach could lead to a mining ban in the EU and have far-reaching implications for BTC communities around the world. According to Batten, the proposed indicators are “unscientific” and ignore the positive environmental externalities of the BTC.

BTC environmental impact methodology is questioned

According to Daniel Batten, the methodology proposed by the European Commission includes measuring the consumption of cryptoasset resources “per transaction” and relying on reports of financial support provided by central banks and other entities to assess the environmental impact of BTC.

According to Batten, this metric, which was previously debunked by the University of Cambridge in 2018, is an “incomplete and not objective” way to assess the environmental impact of cryptocurrencies.

Batten said the European Commission’s intention may not just be to focus on sustainability, but to protect the “vested interests” that BTC could undermine. If the European Commission’s approach prevails, BTC could be officially labelled as an “environmentally harmful asset”.

In addition, Barton further criticized the European Commission for ignoring the positive environmental aspects of scientific research and BTC.

Defending BTC’s Environmental Footprint

To counter the European Commission’s proposed regulation, Barton called on the cryptocurrency community to submit a draft highlighting BTC’s net benefit to the environment. Submissions should emphasize the need for a comprehensive framework for objective, scientific assessment of positive and negative externalities.

Batten encourages the use of high-quality references and examples to demonstrate how BTC mining can contribute to the EU’s Sustainable Development Goals.

Barton urged supporters to question the Greenpeace report, which the EU currently relies on to assess BTC’s environmental impacts. Barton suggested debunking the claims in these reports by providing evidence that they were false, misleading, inaccurate, or no longer applicable due to lack of context.

Ultimately, Batten stressed that it is time for the cryptocurrency community to unite and defend the freedom and decentralization that BTC represents. The founders of CH4 Capital further encouraged individuals to mobilize, share information, and use their “time, passion, and knowledge” to counter the proposed regulations.

At the time of writing, the leading cryptocurrency in the market is trading at $41,800. After peaking at $42,400 this year, it has experienced a period of sideways volatility above that level.

So far, the coin has gained a modest 0.8% and is up as much as 12% over the past 7 days. It is uncertain whether BTC current levels will lead to consolidation, or if there will be a correction in the coming days.