One of the largest Bitcoin mining centers will be built in the Himalayas
Bhutan to build 100 MW data center for carbon-free Bitcoin mining
Bitdeer mining company expects to build a 100 MW power plant in Bhutan for carbon-free cryptocurrency mining
The investment arm of the Kingdom of Bhutan and mining company Bitdeer Technologies plan to find investors for a $500 million fund to develop environmentally friendly cryptocurrency mining in the Himalayan kingdom.
Fundraising will begin as early as the end of May. The goal of the fund is to launch a carbon-free Bitcoin mining center that uses hydroelectric power, according to a joint statement from the two companies filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). According to the document, Bitdeer expects to build a 100 MW power plant in Bhutan, with construction to begin in the second quarter and be completed in July-September.
In February, Russia's BitRiver announced the construction of a mining facility similar in capacity in Buryatia. According to the company's director of government relations Oleg Ogienko, Bhutan has a competitive advantage in mining through inexpensive, accessible, and green energy resources and flexible legislation for the benefit of the national economy, a similar approach and "progressive legislation" may give Russia "a kind of head start" in achieving global leadership in the mining of cryptocurrencies.
Mining will be the least risky way for Bhutan to take advantage of cryptocurrency opportunities and for now, the country will only focus on bitcoin, Ujjwal Deep Dahal, head of the investment arm of local firm Druk Holding & Investments, said in a commentary for Bloomberg. Druk began mining cryptocurrencies as part of an experiment when Bitcoin was still worth about $5,000, he said.
The Kingdom of Bhutan is located between China and India, it has a population of about 800 thousand people. The local economy relies heavily on revenues from hydropower.
Registered in Singapore, Bitdeer is owned by Chinese entrepreneur Jihan Wu and acts as one of the leading players in the cryptocurrency mining market in terms of aggregate capacity. Wu previously served on the board of directors of leading mining equipment manufacturer Bitmain and owned the BTC.com mining pool until February 2021.
Bitdeer went public on the NASDAQ exchange through a SPAC deal in April, and its shares trade under the ticker BTDR. The company owns one of the largest cryptocurrency mining centers in Texas. In the United States, rising electricity prices have led to the bankruptcy of several major cryptocurrency mining players, and the presidential administration on May 2 again raised the issue of imposing a 30% tax on miners.
