The country would use its cheap hydroelectric energy to undermine digital assets.
LAOS grants licenses to local cryptocurrency trade platforms such as mining operations.
For years, Bitcoin mining was pointed out as a synonym for harmful energy consumption.
However, experiences in countries such as Ethiopia, Zambia or Pakistan, reported by cryptonoticia, show that this activity can also take advantage of renewable energy surpluses and generate new sources of income.
In that tune, Daniel Batten, Bitcoin analyst and specialist in energy issues, Indian as follows:
Many nations are about to become Bitcoin countries very soon, and it is not “solid money,” but “solid energy” that is leading the way. Here is why: these are nations that assumed debts to build hydroelectric dams, but also have a generation capacity that exceeds their domestic energy needs.
Daniel Batten, Bitcoin analyst and energy specialist.
With that strategy, mining is transformed into a way to take advantage of hydroelectric resources that, otherwise, They would be without use due to lack of transmission capacity or export agreements.
Among the nations indicated by Batten that study Bitcoin mining to take advantage of the income of that activity, is Laos.
THE CASE OF LAOS: MINAR cryptocurrencies to pay debts
Laos, a nation of Southeast Asia, has decided to take a unique turn to cryptoactive mining: allocate the income of this activity to the payment of your external debtin which China appears as its main creditor.
The Hydroelectric abundance is in the center of the discussionsince Laos produces more electricity than you can export today.
According to a Local report last August, this nation had begun to explore cryptoactive mining as a new destination for its hydroelectric surplus, with the intention of converting it In a sustainable economic growth pillar.
This source details that this plan was discussed by the Ministry of Technology and Communications. For the authorities, digital asset mining is presented as a productive form of convert that surplus into economic value.
What debts does it plan to pay Laos Minendo Bitcoin?
According to another article Shared by Batten of an Hong Kong medium on September 17, Laos has been promoted as the “Southeast Asian battery” thanks to its hydroelectric projects.
However, that bet has left excess electricity and an increase in Construction debt of dams for decades.
In practice, according to the aforementioned medium, although electricity represented 26% of total exports in 2023, the lack of transmission infrastructure and delays in agreements with neighboring countries They prevented that resource completely monetize.
The same article indicates that The environmental cost has been high. Organizations warn that the dams altered the river ecosystem, affected agriculture and fishing, and displaced thousands of people.
At the same time, the slow economic return of the dams has deepened the dependence on external loans.
Given this panorama, the authorities seek in Bitcoin mining an alternative to capitalize on that electric surplus.
As part of that strategy, and according to what has been said by Hong Kong, Laos began to grant licenses both to local cryptocurrency trade platforms and mining operations, although some officials warn about the risks associated with these volatile assets.
The relationship of laos and Bitcoin mining
Although international attention to Laos shot in recent days, its relationship with Bitcoin mining is not new.
HASHRATE INDEX, a specialized mining platform, Inform that the miners of that Asian country hold a capacity to Computational Power for the 5 EH/S Bitcoin Networkequivalent to 0.55% of the global hashrate.
Also, sector analysts They point that Laos was already undermining BTC since August 2023 and He continued to do By the end of that year.
The novelty, now, is the possibility of using these operations to pay external debt, a movement with geopolitical implications that could open a precedent in the way in which the states manage their financial commitments through the cryptoactive industry.