Belarus Considers Cryptocurrency Mining Amid Trump Administration Reserve Initiatives
“We have excess electricity. Let them deal with this cryptocurrency and other things,” Lukashenko told Energy Minister Alexei Kushnarenko.
Tom Carreras | Edited by Aoyon Ashraf on March 5, 2025, 23:03 UTC
Basic information:
- The President of Belarus is considering using the country's excess electricity to mine cryptocurrencies.
- Lukashenko linked this initiative with the possible creation of a cryptocurrency reserve of the Trump administration.
- Bhutan and El Salvador are already mining Bitcoin using hydropower and geothermal energy.
Yesterday, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko spoke about the potential for the Eastern European country to start mining cryptocurrencies.
“Pay attention to this mining. More and more people are turning to me. If it is profitable for us, let's do it. We have excess electricity. Let them do this cryptocurrency and so on,” Lukashenko added to Alexei Kushnarenko, the country's new energy minister, as reported by the Belarusian publication Belta.
The news comes as the US government is considering the possibility of forming a national strategic cryptocurrency reserve, which could include cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Solana (SOL), Ripple (XRP) and Cardano (ADA).
Lukashenko noted the White House's interest in cryptocurrencies. “You see the direction the world is moving. Especially the world's largest economy. Yesterday they said they would maintain a [cryptocurrency] reserve,” he said.
“Therefore, there will be demand for them. Perhaps we should do this ourselves,” Lukashenko added.
Belarus won’t be the first country to start mining cryptocurrencies. The Kingdom of Bhutan, which has significant hydropower resources, already has more than 100 megawatts (MW) of existing bitcoin mining infrastructure and plans to add another 500 MW of electricity. The country currently holds $950 million in bitcoin, according to Arkham Intelligence.
El Salvador, in turn, uses geothermal energy to mine Bitcoin, although on a smaller scale.
Disclaimer: The information in this article has been translated using Google Translate from a foreign language.
