A region in Switzerland just made a major decision about the future of Bitcoin: 'The narrative ... is changing'

A Swiss region is trying to make bitcoin mining more feasible while utilizing otherwise wasted energy.

In Bern, the canton — an administrative division — is hoping to take advantage of bitcoin's possible economic benefits by using excess power from the energy grid for mining activity.

As Crypto Briefing detailed, the canton passed the proposal 85 to 46, and it's hoped the motion will help Bern become a "crypto innovation hub."

According to the Energy Information Administration, cryptocurrency mining in the United States accounts for between 0.6% and 2.3% of total energy consumption. Citing Cambridge Bitcoin Electricity Consumption Index data, the EIA also noted that bitcoin mining in 2023 was responsible for 0.2% to 0.9% of global energy demand.

In fact, as Crypto.com observed, bitcoin's energy demand exceeded that of the entire country of Ukraine, with a population of over 37 million people, in 2023.

Despite the rise of renewable energy sources — such as wind, geothermal, and solar power — burning dirty fuels is still the most common way to produce electricity. With that in mind, bitcoin has a serious polluting impact.

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But the Canton of Bern's strategy to use energy that would otherwise go to waste mitigates that problem, and, in doing so, will help to stabilize the wider grid.

Among the main debate topics, the proposal suggested the money and employment opportunities that bitcoin creates could be put back into the development of renewable energy strategies.

"For several years now, bitcoin mining has been one of the greenest industries in the world," the proposal suggested.

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That can be taken with a grain of salt, because this was said in a motion that was notably pro-bitcoin. There are indeed still millions of tons of carbon dioxide produced from bitcoin per year, but ever since Kazakhstan drove out bitcoin miners taking advantage of its cheap coal-powered grid at a massive scale in 2022, newer industry mining efforts have more frequently pursued off-grid solutions that have often been through renewable energy farms.

Samuel Kullmann, a member of the Grand Council for the Canton of Bern, said the successful proposal hints at a shifting view of the cryptocurrency.

"The outcome clearly demonstrates that the narrative on bitcoin is changing," Kullmann said, per Crypto.com.