Bhutan's economy is powered by 'green' cryptocurrency

Chief executive of Bhutan's sovereign wealth fund, Mr. Parminder Singh Dhugyal, said that Bhutan is looking at ways to harness green cryptocurrency using hydropower in order to boost the economy and create employment to reduce brain-drain and to boost its economy.

Green cryptocurrencies is a term used to describe digital currencies that are mined with clean energy sources such as solar, wind or hydro power.

Bhutan, sandwiched between Asian giants India & China, has made millions by investing in the most popular cryptocurrencies in the world. It used a portion of that profit to pay salaries to government officials for the past two years.

Ujjwal Dahal, CEO of Druk Holding and Investments Ltd, said: "We are a country that runs on hydropower. Every digital coin that we mine using hydropower in Bhutan offsets the coin that is mined using fossil-fuels."

He said on Tuesday that a coin from Bhutan would contribute to the green economics.

Dahal said that the fund, which controls Bhutan’s only electricity generation utility, added cryptocurrencies to its investment portfolio in 2019. He saw virtual currencies as an effective tactical investment, and one that could change the game for the country.

Bhutan's Gross National Happiness Index (GNH) is a popular economic indicator that includes factors not included in the usual measures of Gross Domestic Product, such as recreation and emotional well-being.

Hydropower is used to run energy-guzzling computers to create digital assets which can be added to blockchain.

Officials are looking into whether large conglomerates can buy Bhutan's green coins in order to meet their environmental, social and government (ESG) targets.

Dahal said that the use of blockchain and AI technologies will create jobs in Bhutan.

A nation of 800,000 people is facing an exodus from its young and educated population. According to the government, more than one tenth (10) of young people left between 2022-2023. This would bring unemployment for this age group up to 16.5% by 2024.

Analysts say that Bhutan's ambitious goal to become the "capital of green digital currencies" depends on increasing its hydropower production to 33 gigawatts, compared to the existing capacity of 3.5 gigawatts.

Dahal said, "We plan to generate 15 gigawatts within the next 10-15 years." (Reporting and editing by Clarence Fernandez; Rupam Jain)

(source: Reuters)