The Bhutanese government’s chief executive said the Himalayan country is looking into ways to mine and use natural cryptocurrencies to improve its economy and create jobs to decrease brain drain.
Instead of using fossil fuels, natural cryptocurrencies are digital currencies mined using renewable energy sources like wind, liquid, or renewable.
Bhutan, which is sandwiched between the Asian powers China and India, has made millions of dollars in recent years by investing in some of the most well-known bitcoin and using some of its profits to pay the government’s two-year pay, according to two senior leaders in Thimphu.
Every electric gold we mine in Bhutan using electricity balances that coin’s use of fossil fuels, according to Ujjwal Deep Dahal, CEO of the bank, Druk Holding and Investments Ltd.
He told Reuters on Tuesday ( 15 April ) that” a coin mined in Bhutan will contribute to the green economy.”
Dahal said the bank, which owns Bhutan’s sole power generation power, started adding cryptocurrencies to its profile in 2019. He said it saw digital currencies as a strategic investment and a gamechanger for the nation.
Bhutan is renowned for its Gross National Happiness ( GNH) indicator, an economic indicator that takes into account factors like entertainment, personal well-being, and sustainability that are not included in the standard methods of gross domestic product.
To add digital resources to the cryptocurrency, it runs energy-efficient supercomputers powered by electricity.
To meet their goals regarding environmental, social, and governance ( ESG), officials are looking into whether large companies could purchase Bhutan’s “green” cash.
Dahal added that educating Bhutan’s young people in cryptocurrency and AI techniques may increase employment because bitcoin has increased exposure to cash in foreign currency.
The 800,000-strong state is suffering from an migration of fresh, educated people. According to the authorities, more than a tenth of its young people opted for greener pastures between 2022 and 2023, bringing the poverty rate there to 16.5 % in 2024.
Bhutan’s ambitious program to become the world’s capital of green money depends on expanding its electricity production capacity to 33 terawatts, compared to its current 3 gigawatts.
In the upcoming ten to fifteen years, Dahal continued,” We have programs to produce 15 kwh.”