Microsoft has updated the Universal License Terms for Online Services with a new regulation that won’t make some cryptocurrency fans happy. The new usage policy prohibits cryptocurrency mining in the company’s online services. Specifically, Microsoft warns that no client can access an online service to mine cryptocurrencies, something that seems to be an alternative to which miners accessed.
Cryptocurrency mining has been criticized by countries and entities for consuming too much energy and polluting the environment. Fortunately, today mining is not as profitable as it was before, and a large part of the miners have left the business.
However, cryptomining has not completely disappeared and is still a problem. Microsoft said it banned cryptocurrency mining in its online services in order to protect all cloud customers.
Additionally, the company adds that if someone wants to use Microsoft Online Services to mine cryptocurrency, they will have to request prior written approval. That being said, Microsoft is warning that the mining activity can cause disruption and harm online services like Office 365. In addition, it warns that mining may be tied to cyberattacks, and also allows unauthorized access, and abuse of, client resources.
In recent years, cryptocurrency mining has been a practice used by many companies and users since it was very profitable. With the help of a moderately powerful graphics card, it was possible to start earning enough money to pay the price of it by mining for a few months.
Faced with this situation, many seized the moment, and therefore, the GPU market collapsed. There were no graphics cards, and the few that did appear were at incredibly high prices. All of this is a thing of the past, but even though crypto prices and profitability are at rock bottom today, miners are still looking for alternatives.
