Bhutan turns to 'green' cryptocurrency
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The Himalayan nation of Bhutan is exploring ways to mine and leverage green cryptocurrencies using hydropower to boost its economy and create jobs to reduce brain drain, the chief executive of its sovereign wealth fund said.
Green cryptocurrencies are digital currencies mined using clean energy resources such as wind, hydro or solar power instead of fossil fuel. Bhutan has earned millions of dollars in recent years by investing in some of the world's most popular cryptocurrencies and used some of its profit to pay government salaries for two years, two senior officials in Thimphu said.
"We are a nation that runs 100% on hydropower, and every digital coin we mine in Bhutan using hydropower offsets that coin which gets mined using fossil fuels," said Ujjwal Deep Dahal, the CEO of the fund, Druk Holding and Investments Ltd.
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