Bhutan has secretly mined Bitcoin in the Himalayas for years - and it did it sustainably

euronews.com:

Bhutan, a South Asian kingdom nested in the Himalayan mountains, has recently revealed a secret that stunned the international financial market: the country has been quietly mining crypto for years without telling a soul - including its own citizens.

An even more stunning revelation was that the country has been able to mine crypto in a sustainable way compared to more commonly used methods which have been widely criticised for the large amounts of electricity required.

Bhutan has been able to mine for tokens using its massive stores of hydroelectricity - a renewable source of energy that can be largely considered to be “green”.

Bhutan has an abundance of hydroelectricity - a form of renewable energy that uses the power of moving water to generate electricity - thanks to the ancient glaciers feeding the many rivers flowing through the country.

Energy generated by hydroelectricity is currently fuelling the homes of most of the country’s 777,000-strong population, and it represents 30 per cent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP).

But Bhutan’s recently revealed secret shows that the country has also been putting this immense resource to work for another purpose that could boost and sustain its economy in the future: the creation of its own crypto mines.

Bhutan is not alone in betting on cryptocurrencies for its future. The Central American state of El Salvador is currently the only country in the world to run state-owned crypto mines.

With its small size and limited resources, green crypto mining could be the solution to Bhutan’s economic independence, a country that has struggled for years to establish its self-sufficiency.

Bhutan has the advantage of its resources and environment making the country an ideal space for