The kingdom of Bhutan revealed that it has doubled public officials' salaries by mining bitcoin.
According to Bit2Me, Bhutan's prime minister, Tshering Tobgay, spearheaded the country's effort to sell $100 million in bitcoin in 2023. This money has also allowed Bhutan to fund public policy.
One reason the country has focused on increasing officials' salaries is because of a rise in emigration. Professionals have been leaving Bhutan at higher rates, a phenomenon also known as "brain drain."
The Bhutanese government hopes that this effort will encourage professionals to stay within the country and improve morale as they contribute to key areas such as education, health care, and technological innovation, resulting in better services for citizens.
Bhutan also used hydroelectric power in an attempt to mine sustainably.
According to Euromoney, the country is already considered carbon negative, which means it absorbs more carbon than it generates. Tobgay coined this term in 2019, and Bhutan's forests are the heroes of this story: They absorb about four times as much carbon dioxide as the country emits. While carbon isn't everything, this is a feat that only Bhutan has achieved so far.
"I am actually overwhelmed by the response," Tobgay told Euromoney after giving a TED Talk about his environmental thoughts. "I have had literally thousands of people write in to say how can they help, what can they do in their own communities."
As for hydroelectric power, Bhutan adopted the process in 1967. Daily Bhutan explained that the volume of water flowing through a hydroelectric plant dictates the amount of energy available for people to use.
This has allowed Bhutan to use its natural resources to provide safe, reliable, and renewable energy domestically and industrially.
Bhutan's use of hydroelectric power to mine bitcoin has reduced the mining's impact on the environment, but crypto transactions still use a lot of energy. While this may not be the case in places like Bhutan, crypto strains energy grids and raises carbon emissions and air pollution elsewhere.
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Definitely 👍 If other countries want to do something similar to Bhutan, they must consider all facets of this process. If the U.S. made a Bhutan-like leap to harness crypto in its current state, that would immediately and negatively impact our access to electricity and healthy air.
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