Latest news with #TsheringTobgay
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
These 6 Words From a Head of State Are Super Bullish for Bitcoin
A lot of countries are buying or otherwise investing in Bitcoin this year. One leader in particular has a strong opinion on the subject. What that leader's country is doing with Bitcoin is also a good example of why countries would want to invest. 10 stocks we like better than Bitcoin › This isn't the first year that people in positions of power started to talk about Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC), but it's definitely the first year in which it's important enough for heads of state to be regularly commenting. And when top politicians weigh in on what they think should be done regarding a certain asset, it behooves investors to listen, as it's almost always information that's relevant to an asset's chances of gaining value over the long term. In that vein, one prime minister in particular had a provocative take on Bitcoin recently. If leaders are thinking like he is, it will be especially bullish, so let's dive in and see what he said and why it matters. During an interview in April with Al Jazeera, the prime minister of Bhutan, Tshering Tobgay, had six choice words to say about mining Bitcoin: "I think governments should do it." That's quite the green flag for Bitcoin bulls for a few reasons. In case you're not familiar, Bhutan is a Himalayan nation with a population of less than 1 million people. It generates all of its energy via hydropower, and it typically produces more energy than it needs. Rather than selling its excess energy production to its energy-hungry neighbors, China and India, it often opts to use it to mine Bitcoin, generating more value. It then uses the proceeds to pay its civil servants more than they'd be able to make otherwise, thereby helping with personnel retention -- an area that Bhutan has recently struggled with. In other words, Bhutan is a living example showing that mining or holding Bitcoin can help governments to ease fiscal constraints and solve problems that they would otherwise lack the resources to address. Other countries with similar capabilities, such as substantial renewable or sustainable energy sources, will now see that they might also have an incentive to use their assets to mine Bitcoin. And over the long term, that will likely drive more sovereign adoption, increasing demand for the coin, as well as its price. Another reason the comments from Bhutan's prime minister are so bullish is that the country is proof that Bitcoin mining does not need to be at odds with environmental ideals. That's contrary to years of the coin having a bad reputation for sometimes being mined with energy derived from coal power, which has thus been an impediment to more widespread adoption among environmentally conscious investors in the developed world. If Bitcoin is increasingly mined using sustainable energy, some of those reticent investors may eventually be coaxed off the sidelines. Finally, the Bhutan example shows that it isn't necessary for a government to make extreme strategic commitments to mining Bitcoin for the venture to be worthwhile. Bhutan doesn't account for even 0.01% of the global hashing power for mining, but it's still benefiting enough from the small amount of mining it does for its prime minister to be an evangelist for the coin. Therefore -- assuming that other nations notice the great results Bhutan is getting with its mining operations -- it's evidence that large investment is not a precursor to generating some value with Bitcoin, which could help to prompt developing countries to initiate programs of their own. It's currently the golden age of governments following Bhutan's lead and buying, holding, or mining Bitcoin. As success stories start to pile up, both from starting mining operations and from financial gains delivered by holding, it will create more sovereign buying pressure, as well as larger sovereign stockpiles that effectively reduce the float of coins available for public trading. That will ultimately force buyers to compete over a smaller supply, pushing prices higher. As you probably know, governments tend to have a lot more capital to commit to investments than individuals or even companies. So if Bhutan's strategy is anything like what other countries might pursue, it's a significant bullish sign because it means there's going to be a lot more capital flowing into Bitcoin, and soon. Before you buy stock in Bitcoin, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the for investors to buy now… and Bitcoin wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $642,582!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $829,879!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 975% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 172% for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join . See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of May 19, 2025 Alex Carchidi has positions in Bitcoin. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Bitcoin. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. These 6 Words From a Head of State Are Super Bullish for Bitcoin was originally published by The Motley Fool Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
NDTV
08-05-2025
- Business
- NDTV
Adani Group Signs Pact With Bhutan's Druk Green Power Corporation For 5,000 MW Of Hydropower Project
Ahmedabad: Chairman of Adani Group, Gautam Adani, on Thursday, thanked Prime Minister of Tshering Tobgay after Adani Group and the Druk Green Power Corporation (DGPC) of Bhutan signed a landmark Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to develop 5,000 MW of hydropower projects in Bhutan jointly. In a post on X, Chairman of Adani Group, Gautam Adani said, "Honoured to deepen our partnership with Bhutan. We are committed to a greener and more prosperous future. Thank you @PMBhutan @tsheringtobgay for your trust and vision." Honoured to deepen our partnership with Bhutan. We are committed to a greener and more prosperous future. Thank you @PMBhutan @tsheringtobgay for your trust and vision. 🙏 — Gautam Adani (@gautam_adani) May 8, 2025 The MoU was signed in Thimphu by DGPC's MD Dasho Chhewang Rinzin and Adani Green Hydro Ltd's COO (PSP & Hydro) Naresh Telgu in the presence of the Prime Minister Dasho Tshering Tobgay, Minister for Energy and Natural Resources Lyonpo Gem Tshering and other dignitaries. As part of this collaboration, Adani will ensure reliable power offtake and integration with India's commercial power markets, further reinforcing Bhutan's role in the regional energy trade. The partnership is strongly backed by the Royal Government of Bhutan and the Government of India, underscoring a shared vision for clean energy growth and economic integration. The MoU builds on the ongoing partnership for the 570/900 MW Wangchhu Hydropower Project, in which DGPC will hold a majority 51 per cent stake and Adani will hold 49 per cent. The broader 5,000 MW initiative will encompass additional hydropower and pumped storage projects to be identified, Detailed Project Reports prepared, and taken forward for implementation in phases. This initiative also aligns with Bhutan's Renewable Energy Roadmap, which aims to achieve and additional 20,000 MW of generation capacity by 2040. The roadmap prioritises diversification into solar and geothermal energy, and also encourages strategic partnerships to attract investment and innovation. In a further milestone, DGPC and Adani also initialled the Shareholders' Agreement for the Wangchhu Project, marking significant progress in their collaborative efforts to advance Bhutan's hydropower sector. DGPC is Bhutan's premier hydropower developer, has decades of experience in managing the nation's renewable energy resources. It plays a pivotal role in Bhutan's clean energy journey, contributing to both domestic energy security and sustainable development. Through such partnerships, DGPC is also helping to strengthen Bhutan's position in regional energy cooperation. The Adani Group, India's leading infrastructure and renewable energy player which brings its extensive expertise in project development, financing, and market access. It will support Bhutan in scaling up its hydropower capacity and facilitating access to Indian energy markets. (Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
Hans India
08-05-2025
- Business
- Hans India
Gautam Adani sees group's pact to set up 5,000 MW projects in Bhutan as deepening of partnership
New Delhi: Adani Group Chairman Gautam Adani on Thursday said the signing of the MoU to jointly develop 5,000 MW of hydropower projects in Bhutan represented a deepening of the group's partnership with the Himalayan country. He also thanked Bhutan Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay for reposing his trust in the Adani Group. "Was honoured to deepen our partnership with Bhutan. We are committed to a greener and more prosperous future. Thank you PM Bhutan Tshering Tobgay for your trust and vision", Gautam Adani posted on X. The Bhutan Prime Minister, on his part, said that he was "delighted that that Druk Green Power Corporation and Adani Power have made significant progress on the Wangchhu hydropower JV project, and that they have signed an MoU Druk Green Power Corporation (DGPC) of Bhutan to jointly develop 5,000 MW of additional hydropower in Bhutan". "Grateful to my friend Gautam Adani," Prime Minister Tobgay remarked. The partnership is strongly backed by both the Bhutan and Indian governments, underscoring a shared vision for clean energy growth and economic integration. The MoU, signed in Bhutan by DGPC's MD Dasho Chhewang Rinzin and Adani Green Hydro Ltd's COO (PSP & Hydro) Naresh Telgu in the presence of the Prime Minister Tobgay, Minister for Energy and Natural Resources Lyonpo Gem Tshering and other senior dignitaries, builds on the ongoing partnership for the 570/900 MW Wangchhu Hydropower Project, in which DGPC will hold a majority 51 per cent stake and the Adani Group will hold 49 per cent. The broader 5,000 MW initiative will encompass additional hydropower and pumped storage projects to be identified, Detailed Project Reports prepared, and taken forward for implementation in phases. "This strategic partnership with Adani will further strengthen our very strong engagement with the Government of India in harnessing Bhutan's abundant hydropower resources, which is considered the cornerstone of the exemplary and friendly relations between our two countries," said DGPC's MD Rinzin. "We look forward to taking this partnership forward with Adani and learning from their huge successes across the globe." In a further milestone, the DGPC and the Adani Group also initialled the Shareholders' Agreement for the Wangchhu Project, marking significant progress in their collaborative efforts to advance Bhutan's hydropower sector. The Adani Group, India's leading infrastructure and renewable energy player, brings extensive expertise in project development, financing, and market access. It will support Bhutan in scaling up its hydropower capacity and facilitating access to Indian energy markets. As part of this collaboration, the group will ensure reliable power offtake and integration with India's commercial power markets, further reinforcing Bhutan's role in the regional energy trade. This initiative also aligns with Bhutan's Renewable Energy Roadmap, which aims to achieve an additional 20,000 MW of generation capacity by 2040. The roadmap prioritises diversification into solar and geothermal energy, and also encourages strategic partnerships to attract investment and innovation. The DGPC, Bhutan's premier hydropower developer, has decades of experience in managing the nation's renewable energy resources. It plays a pivotal role in Bhutan's clean energy journey, contributing to both domestic energy security and sustainable development. Through such partnerships, the DGPC is also helping to strengthen Bhutan's position in regional energy cooperation.
Al Jazeera
14-04-2025
- Business
- Al Jazeera
Can Bitcoin save Bhutan's struggling economy?
For years, Bhutan has measured its economic and social development using uncommon currencies: happiness and sustainability. But amid growing economic pains and a brain drain, the small, landlocked Himalayan kingdom is adopting a new emblem of progress, which is propelling Bhutan into a leading role globally in embracing financial innovation: Bitcoin. Nestled between India and China, Bhutan – also the first country in the world to become carbon negative – has mined millions of dollars in the world's most popular cryptocurrency in recent years, making an economic bet that almost no other country has to the same extent. So, why is Bhutan going big on Bitcoin? How is it mining the energy-intensive cryptocurrency? How much wealth in Bitcoin does the country hold? And is its move risky, given the wild fluctuations in prices that the digital currency has witnessed over the years? Bitcoin is the first decentralised, peer-to-peer cryptocurrency, created in 2008. It is not controlled by any government. People can buy and sell cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, and these transactions are recorded on a shared ledger called a blockchain. Bitcoin has value because there is a finite number of Bitcoins that can exist on the blockchain, about 21 million. Most of these coins have been mined, and approximately one million remain. Bitcoin mining is the process through which new Bitcoins are officially added to the blockchain. To mine Bitcoin, an energy-guzzling supercomputer needs to solve a complex puzzle. This adds a new digital coin into circulation. Bhutan's hydropower plants fuel supercomputers that solve complex problems to be rewarded with Bitcoin, which can be added to the blockchain. 'It's just a simple strategic choice that many people have made and earned billions of dollars, and I think governments should do it,' Bhutanese Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay told Al Jazeera's Bernard Smith in the capital, Thimphu, in March. Tobgay explained that during the summer months, there is more water flow, and the hydropower plants generate more energy than needed. 'That's where Bitcoin mining makes tremendous sense,' said Tobgay. The country is in the midst of mounting economic challenges, and Bitcoin mining is among a set of steps the nation of 800,000 people is taking to fight its way out of the crisis. The country has no outlet to the sea, and although – at a little more than 38,000sq km (14,672sq miles) – it is almost as big as Switzerland, most of this land is not arable due to its mountainous terrain. Bhutan imports most of its food from India, which Tobgay described as the kingdom's 'closest friend and neighbour'. Tourism contributes more than 10 percent of the country's gross domestic product (GDP). In 2023, it brought in $334m, according to the Royal Monetary Authority, Bhutan's central bank. The country's GDP stood at $3.02bn that year. However, those figures mask the country's struggle to draw people back to visit its mountains, forests and Buddhist shrines since a setback during the COVID-19 pandemic. Bhutan has long controlled how many tourists it hosts to ensure that its pristine ecology is not affected by a higher footfall than it can manage. It charges a sustainable development fee of $100 to foreign tourists. The only exception to this rule is tourists from India, who have to pay $15. Tobgay says the vision behind this is to attract 'high-value and low-volume' tourists. But now, Bhutan is struggling to attract even the limited number of tourists it wants. According to Tobgay, the country can host approximately 300,000 tourists every year. 'Last year, I think about 150,000 tourists visited,' the prime minister said. Bhutan's youth unemployment rate was 19 percent in 2024. The global average youth unemployment rate in 2023 was 13.6 percent, according to the World Bank. One of the most potent symptoms of Bhutan's crisis is the exodus of young, educated people to other countries in recent years – and their departure only compounds the country's economic struggle. In 2022 alone, more than 10 percent of Bhutan's skilled and educated population left the country. Australia, one of the major destination countries, saw its Bhutanese immigrant population more than double in five years between 2016 and 2021. 'We have jobs in Bhutan but they cannot compete against the wages that they can earn elsewhere in developed countries,' Tobgay said. This brain drain has also depleted Bhutan's civil services. There was a sharp increase in civil servants quitting the system since 2019, with the number of civil servants quitting continuing to increase until 2023, the state-funded Bhutan Broadcasting Service (BBS) reported in April 2024. This is where Bitcoin, as an economic resource, appears to have helped. In 2023, the Bhutanese government sold $100m of cryptocurrency to double the salaries of civil servants, Al Jazeera's Smith reported from Thimphu. Since then, the BBS reported a marginal decline in civil servants quitting their jobs. In the first quarter of 2024, 500 civil servants resigned, compared with the nearly 1,900 who resigned in the same period in 2023. Bhutan has not formally disclosed how much it holds in the cryptocurrency. However, according to blockchain intelligence firm Arkham, Bhutan's Bitcoin holdings are worth more than $600m as of April 9, making up about 30 percent of the kingdom's GDP. Arkham's data suggests that Bhutan also holds other cryptocurrencies, including Ethereum and LinqAI, although the kingdom's holdings of these currencies are much smaller than those of Bitcoin. Bhutan's king, Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, has long advocated for the country to invest in its digital infrastructure. 'Being a small nation makes us a smart nation – this is not out of choice but out of necessity,' the king said in a 2019 address. 'Technology is an indispensable tool that will be necessary to realise this aspiration.' Bitcoin mining is one of the few ventures that allows Bhutan, a constitutional monarchy, to grow its economy while aligning with its values as a country, analysts say. 'The number of private sector investments that flow into Bhutan is quite limited because of the restrictions that come with Bhutan's mandate to maintain around 60 percent of forest cover and to focus on happiness and conservation of the environment rather than embracing industrialisation rapidly,' Aditya Gowdara Shivamurthy, an associate fellow at the New Delhi-based Observer Research Foundation (ORF), told Al Jazeera. This limitation is also something Prime Minister Tobgay spoke of. 'We have been mindful to be very careful about foreign direct investment,' Tobgay said. 'We have been careful about allowing industries that would harm the environment, that would pollute our air, that would undermine our culture.' What Bhutan does have is an environment and natural resources conducive to mining the cryptocurrency, said the ORF's Shivamurthy. The capital, Thimphu, and other regions have cold temperatures, reducing the need to overutilise the cooling systems needed to prevent supercomputers from overheating. The average temperatures in the country remain between 15 to 30 degrees Celsius (59-86 degrees Fahrenheit) throughout the year, according to data from the World Bank. The country also produces more hydropower than it consumes. 'It is important for Bhutan to capitalise on the green energy we have in terms of mining Bitcoin as a part of our investment portfolio,' Ujwal Deep Dahal, the CEO of Druk Holding and Investments, the commercial and investment arm of the Royal Government of Bhutan, told Al Jazeera. Bhutan exports hydroelectricity to India. But Bitcoin mining gives Bhutan an alternative to exports. Where tariff rates are good, it sells the power to India. In projects where the rates are not good, Bhutan keeps the power and uses it to mine Bitcoin instead, the ORF's Shivamurthy explained. 'Instead of exporting [hydropower] at a very cheap rate, we are using it to mine Bitcoins in the high mountains of Bhutan,' Tenzing Lamsang, editor-in-chief of The Bhutanese newspaper, a private weekly based in Thimphu, told Al Jazeera. Besides mining Bitcoin, the country is building a special administrative region and economic hub, the Gelephu Mindfulness City, to combine its ideals of sustainability and wellbeing with commercial growth. The city is an urban development project with low-rise buildings, sustainable businesses, residential zones, a national park and a wildlife sanctuary. While governments were wary about Bitcoin in its early days, many are now changing their approach. On March 6, United States President Donald Trump established a strategic Bitcoin reserve. Besides the US, El Salvador holds nearly $550m in Bitcoin, the government announced on March 5. Other governments, such as the Central African Republic and France, are beginning to recognise Bitcoin as a legal tender. On April 7, Pakistan appointed Changpeng Zhao, the founder of Binance, which is the largest cryptocurrency exchange globally, as an adviser to the Pakistan Crypto Council (PCC), a regulatory body set up in March, as the country attempts to position itself as a crypto leader in South Asia.
Al Jazeera
14-04-2025
- Business
- Al Jazeera
Bitcoin king: Why is Bhutan betting on crypto?
For years, Bhutan has measured its economic and social development using uncommon currencies: happiness and sustainability. But amid growing economic pains and a brain drain, the small, landlocked Himalayan kingdom is adopting a new emblem of progress, which is propelling Bhutan into a leading role, globally, in embracing financial innovation: Bitcoin. Nestled between India and China, Bhutan – also the first country in the world to become carbon negative– has mined millions of dollars in the world's most popular cryptocurrency in recent years, making an economic bet that almost no other country has, to the same extent. So, why is Bhutan going big on Bitcoin? How is it mining the energy-intensive cryptocurrency? How much wealth in Bitcoin does the country hold? And is its move risky, given the wild fluctuations in prices that the digital currency has witnessed over the years? Bitcoin is the first decentralised, peer-to-peer cryptocurrency, created in 2008. It is not controlled by any government. People can buy and sell cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, and these transactions are recorded on a shared ledger called a blockchain. Bitcoin has value because there is a finite number of Bitcoins that can exist on the blockchain, about 21 million. Most of these coins have been mined and approximately 1 million remain. Bitcoin mining is the process through which new Bitcoins are officially added to the blockchain. To mine Bitcoin, an energy-guzzling supercomputer needs to solve a complex puzzle. This adds a new digital coin into circulation. Bhutan's hydropower plants fuel supercomputers that solve complex problems to be rewarded with Bitcoin, which can be added to the blockchain. 'It's just a simple strategic choice that many people have made and earned billions of dollars, and I think governments should do it,' Bhutanese Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay told Al Jazeera's Bernard Smith in the capital, Thimphu, in March. Tobgay explained that during the summer months, there is more water flow and the hydropower plants generate more energy than needed. 'That's where Bitcoin mining makes tremendous sense,' said Tobgay. The country is in the midst of mounting economic challenges, and Bitcoin mining is among a set of steps the nation of 800,000 people is taking to fight its way out of the crisis. The country has no outlet to the sea, and although – at a little more than 38,000 sq km (14,672 sq miles) – it is almost as big as Switzerland, most of this land is not arable due to its mountainous terrain. Bhutan imports most of its food from India, which Tobgay described as the kingdom's 'closest friend and neighbour'. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) estimates Bhutan's gross domestic product (GDP) to be $3.52bn in 2025. Based on this, tourism contributes about 3.4 percent to the country's GDP. However, after COVID-19 shook the industry, Bhutan has struggled to draw people back to visit its mountains, forests and Buddhist shrines. Bhutan has long controlled how many tourists it hosts to ensure that its pristine ecology is not affected by a higher footfall than it can manage. It charges a sustainable development fee of $100 to foreign tourists. The only exception to this rule is tourists from India, who have to pay $15. Tobgay says the vision behind this is to attract 'high-value and low-volume' tourists. But now, Bhutan is struggling to get even the limited numbers of tourists it wants. According to Tobgay, the country can host approximately 300,000 tourists every year. 'Last year, I think about 150,000 tourists visited,' the prime minister said. Bhutan's youth unemployment rate was 19 percent in 2024. The global average youth unemployment rate in 2023 was 13.6 percent, according to the World Bank. One of the most potent symptoms of Bhutan's crisis is the exodus of young, educated people to other countries in recent years – and their departure only compounds the country's economic struggle. In 2022 alone, more than 10 percent of Bhutan's skilled and educated population left the country. Australia, one of the major destination countries, saw its Bhutanese immigrant population more than double in five years between 2016 and 2021. 'We have jobs in Bhutan but they cannot compete against the wages that they can earn elsewhere in developed countries,' Tobgay said. This brain drain has also depleted Bhutan's civil services. There was a sharp increase in civil servants quitting the system services since 2019, with the number of civil servants quitting continuing to increase until 2023, the state-funded Bhutan Broadcasting Service (BBS) reported in April 2024. This is where Bitcoin, as an economic resource, appears to have helped: In 2023, the Bhutanese government sold $100m of the cryptocurrency to double the salaries of civil servants, Al Jazeera's Smith reported from Thimphu. Since then, the BBS reported a marginal decline in civil servants quitting their jobs. In the first quarter of 2024, 500 civil servants resigned, compared with the nearly 1,900 who resigned in the same period in 2023. Bhutan has not formally disclosed how much it holds in the cryptocurrency. However, according to Blockchain intelligence firm Arkham, Bhutan's Bitcoin holdings are worth more than $600m as of April 9, making up about 30 percent of the kingdom's GDP. Arkham's data suggests that Bhutan also holds other cryptocurrencies, including Ethereum and LinqAI. Albeit the kingdom's holdings of these currencies are much smaller than those of Bitcoin. Bhutan's king, Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, has long advocated for the country to invest in its digital infrastructure. 'Being a small nation makes us a smart nation – this is not out of choice but out of necessity,' the king said in a 2019 address. 'Technology is an indispensable tool that will be necessary to realise this aspiration.' Bitcoin mining is one of the few ventures that allows Bhutan, a constitutional monarchy, to grow its economy while aligning with its values as a country, analysts say. 'The number of private sector investments that flow into Bhutan are quite limited because of the restrictions that come with Bhutan's mandate to maintain around 60 percent of forest cover and to focus on happiness and conservation of the environment rather than embracing industrialisation rapidly,' Aditya Gowdara Shivamurthy, an associate fellow at the New Delhi-based Observer Research Foundation (ORF), told Al Jazeera. This limitation is also something Prime Minister Tobgay spoke of. 'We have been mindful to be very careful about foreign direct investment,' Tobgay said. 'We have been careful about allowing industries that would harm the environment, that would pollute our air, that would undermine our culture.' What Bhutan does have is an environment and natural resources conducive to mining the cryptocurrency, said the ORF's Shivamurthy. The capital, Thimphu, and other regions have cold temperatures, reducing the need to over-utilise the cooling systems needed to prevent supercomputers from overheating. The average temperatures in the country remain between approximately 15-30 degrees Celsius (59-86 degrees Fahrenheit) throughout the year, according to data from the World Bank. The country also produces more hydropower than it consumes. 'It is important for Bhutan to capitalise on the green energy we have in terms of mining Bitcoin as a part of our investment portfolio,' Ujwal Deep Dahal, the CEO of Druk Holding and Investments, the commercial and investment arm of the Royal Government of Bhutan, told Al Jazeera. Bhutan does export hydroelectricity to India. But Bitcoin mining gives Bhutan an alternative to exports. Where tariff rates are good, it sells the power to India. In projects where the rates are not good, Bhutan keeps the power and uses it to mine Bitcoin instead, the ORF's Shivamurthy explained. 'Instead of exporting [hydropower] at a very cheap rate, we are using it to mine Bitcoins in the high mountains of Bhutan,' Tenzing Lamsang, editor-in-chief of The Bhutanese newspaper, a private weekly based in Thimphu, told Al Jazeera. Besides mining Bitcoin, the country is building a special administrative region and economic hub, the Gelephu Mindfulness City, to combine its ideals of sustainability and wellbeing with commercial growth. The city is an urban development project with low-rise buildings, sustainable businesses, residential zones, a national park and a wildlife sanctuary. While governments were wary about Bitcoin in its early days, many are now changing their approach. On March 6, United States President Donald Trump established a strategic Bitcoin reserve. Besides the US, El Salvador holds nearly $550m in Bitcoin, the government announced on March 5. Other governments, such as the Central African Republic and France, are beginning to recognise Bitcoin as a legal tender. On April 7, Pakistan appointed Changpeng Zhao, the founder of Binance, which is the largest cryptocurrency exchange globally, as an adviser to the Pakistan Crypto Council (PCC), a regulatory body set up in March, as the country attempts to position itself as a crypto leader in South Asia.
