The economy of Svaneti, a region in Georgia, has been facing economic downtime with the COVID 19 pandemic because the spending on tourism in the region took a hit. As the pandemic came, residents had to seek an alternative, and they opted for crypto mining. According to Macrotrends, tourism spending in the region grew every year from 2000 to 2019.
Crypto miners in Svaneti were reportedly forced to participate in a sacred oath to abstain from mining activities because of their alleged influence on the power shortages in the region.
People turned to crypto mining after the COVID-19 pandemic affected traveling and tourism in the region. This has led to power shortages, which many believe is linked to this activity.
Sputnik Georgia, a local news outlet, disclosed that the video of the people in a church on Dec. 30, 2021, were miners. These miners were made to take an oath to St. George denouncing their crypto mining activities. In this region, sacred oaths are religiously followed and not meant to be broken.
Crypto mining activities have peaked in recent times, and the energy supply company, Energy Pro has threatened to increase electricity tariffs because of it in the region. Some residents have also gone on protests, calling for an end to the activity. Some parts of the region enjoy free electricity, which attracts crypto miners.
Georgia is not the only country that is facing an influx of crypto mining activities. In Kosovo and Kazakhstan, cheap energy sources attracted miners in droves, which made the governments ban crypto mining as a way of protecting their electricity generation and distribution systems.
In Kosovo, the ban was done after an electricity shortage was noticed during the cold winter months. Kazakhstan initiated the ban in its country once the political protests began.
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