Microsoft bans cryptocurrency mining using its services

Tech giant Microsoft has added a ban on cryptocurrency mining to its update of the Universal Online Services License Agreement, which came into effect on December 1. From now on, no user will be able to use Microsoft products to mine digital assets.

The ban applies to any digital product hosted by Microsoft. When purchasing/renewing an existing subscription to Microsoft services, each customer is required to sign the Microsoft Corporate Licensing Agreement, which includes a mining clause. «Anyone who accesses Microsoft products cannot use our services for cryptocurrency mining without the prior written permission of the company’s representatives,» Microsoft emphasized.

The tech giant’s management has not yet commented on this innovation. However, the document for the company’s partners entitled «Important actions that partners should take to protect the shared ecosystem» states: «The Acceptable Use Policy has been updated to prohibit cryptocurrency mining on all Microsoft online services unless Microsoft provides written approval. We strongly urge you to contact our staff for prior approval before using Microsoft Online Services to mine cryptocurrencies, regardless of your subscription term.»

While Microsoft prohibits the mining of digital assets on its services, it plans to integrate crypto transfers into its mobile app. According to Seeking Alpha journalists, the company is considering launching a WeChat-like program. In this way, Microsoft hopes to overtake the monopolists of the mobile technology market, Google and Apple.

As a reminder, apart from Microsoft, one of the world’s largest hosting companies, Hetzner, has also banned cryptocurrency mining. According to Hetzner representatives in late August, the use of the company’s products for applications even remotely related to crypto assets is not allowed. This is especially critical for the Ethereum community, as Hetzner hosts approximately 16% of Ethereum nodes. Also, in November, the cloud hosting service restricted access to servers with Solana blockchain nodes. More than 20% of the nodes in the staking lost access to the network by assets.