Bhutan turns to ‘inexperienced’ cryptocurrency to gas financial system

By Rupam Jain

NEW DELHI (Reuters) – The Himalayan nation of Bhutan is exploring methods to mine and leverage inexperienced cryptocurrencies utilizing hydropower to spice up its financial system and create jobs to scale back mind drain, the chief govt of its sovereign wealth fund mentioned.

Inexperienced cryptocurrencies are digital currencies mined utilizing clear power sources resembling wind, hydro or solar energy as an alternative of fossil gas.

Sandwiched between Asian giants India and China, Bhutan has earned thousands and thousands of {dollars} lately by investing in among the world’s hottest cryptocurrencies and used a few of its revenue to pay authorities salaries for 2 years, two senior officers in Thimphu, the capital mentioned.

“We’re a nation that runs 100% on hydropower, and each digital coin we mine in Bhutan utilizing hydropower offsets that coin which will get mined utilizing fossil fuels,” mentioned Ujjwal Deep Dahal, the CEO of the fund, Druk Holding and Investments Ltd.

“So a coin mined in Bhutan will contribute to the inexperienced financial system,” he informed Reuters on Tuesday.

Dahal mentioned the fund, which controls Bhutan’s solely energy technology utility, started including cryptocurrencies to its portfolio in 2019, seeing digital currencies as a tactical funding and a gamechanger for the nation.

Bhutan is famed for its Gross Nationwide Happiness (GNH) index, an financial gauge that comes with components ignored by the standard measures of gross home product, resembling recreation, emotional well-being and sustainability.

It makes use of hydropower to function energy-guzzling supercomputers to create digital property that may be added to the blockchain.

Officers are exploring whether or not massive conglomerates might purchase Bhutan’s “inexperienced” cash to fulfill their targets on environmental, social and governance (ESG) norms.

“Bitcoin has not simply given extra worth to hydropower power, it has additionally elevated entry to liquidity in international forex,” mentioned Dahal, who added that coaching Bhutan’s younger individuals in blockchain and AI strategies would gas jobs.

The nation of about 800,000 is battling an exodus of younger, educated individuals. The federal government estimates that greater than a tenth of its younger individuals sought greener pastures between 2022 and 2023, taking unemployment in that age group to 16.5% in 2024.

Analysts mentioned Bhutan’s bold plan to turn out to be the capital of inexperienced digital forex relies on increasing its hydropower technology to a possible of 33 gigawatts versus current capability of about 3.5 gigawatts.

“We now have plans to generate 15 gigawatts within the subsequent 10 to fifteen years,” Dahal added.

(Reporting by Rupam Jain; Enhancing by Clarence Fernandez)