The news comes as the country faces the worst energy crisis in a decade due to production outages. Due to cheap power prices in Kosovo in recent years, many young people in Kosovo have got involved in crypto mining. Faced with coal-fired power plant outages and high import prices authorities were forced in December 2021 to introduce power cuts.
European gas prices soared more than 30% after low supplies from Russia reignited concerns about an energy crunch as colder weather approaches. In December 2021, Kosovo declared a state of emergency for 60 days which will allow the government to allocate more money to energy imports, introduce more power cuts and harsher measures.
One miner, who spoke on condition of anonymity and who has 40 GPUs (Graphics Processing Units), told Reuters he was paying around EUR 170 per month for electricity and is getting around EUR 2,400 per month in profit from mining.
Coin mining has been on the rise in northern Kosovo, mostly populated by Serbs who do not recognise the state of Kosovo and refuse to pay electricity. The country of 1.8 million people is now importing more than 40% of its consumed energy with high demand during the winter when people use electricity mainly for heating.
Around 90% percent of energy production in Kosovo is from lignite, a soft coal that produces toxic pollution when burnt. Official figures show Kosovo has the world's fifth largest lignite reserves of 12-14 billion tonnes.
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