Submitted on Saturday 20th November 2021
Rejected on Monday 29th November 2021
Current status: Rejected
Rejection code: irrelevant (see below for details)
Ban the mining of and trade in "proof of work" cryptocurrencies within the UK.
Bitcoin, Ethereum and Dogecoin are all popular cryptocurrencies which use proof of work to secure transactions. Proof of work is incredibly wasteful: current estimates suggest that it currently uses around 0.5% of the world's electricity. We cannot afford this waste if we want to reach net zero.
The computers used to mine Bitcoin are specialised, can't be repurposed and rapidly become obsolete. This generates a lot of electronic waste. Recent estimates have concluded that mining operations consume 4% of specialised semiconductor manufacturing and 20% of all graphics card sales. A ban on proof of work based cryptocurrencies, would not be a full ban on cryptocurrencies but would instead incentivise them to move to more environmentally friendly mining algorithms such as proof of stake.
You can't sign this petition because it was rejected. But you can still comment on it here at Repetition.me!
The Government e-Petitions Team gave the following reason:
Petitions must call for a specific action that the UK Government or Parliament are directly responsible for.
The Government is not responsible for whether individuals or businesses choose to mine for cryptocurrency. This is a matter for individuals or businesses to decide.
We could accept a petition calling on the Government to prohibit transactions in cryptocurrencies in the UK, as this is something the Government is responsible for.
3.144.202.167 Wed, 24 Apr 2024 15:42:18 +0100
