Pakistan’s finance ministry unveiled plans Sunday to assign 2000 megawatts of electricity to power Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) mining and artificial intelligence data centers.
What Happened: The move is part of the South Asian nation’s strategy to harness its excess electricity for mining operations--a way through which new BTC are brought into circulation, as reported by Reuters.
The initiative is being led by the Pakistan Crypto Council, a government-backed regulatory body tasked with promoting blockchains and digital assets within the country. According to the finance ministry, the goal is to leverage surplus electricity to create high-tech job opportunities and attract foreign investment.
Why It Matters: Pakistan’s energy sector has long struggled with difficulties such as excessive electricity pricing and excess producing capacity, according to Dawn, Pakistan’s largest English newspaper.
Miners help stabilize a power system by turning on their activities when there is excess capacity of electricity, and substantially reducing them when there is a need for increased utilization under adverse weather conditions.
See Also: Ripple Plans $11B Circle Acquisition Amid Whale Shorts and XRP Market Tension
Pakistan has been making concerted efforts to spread its wings in the cryptocurrency space. Last month, it roped in Changpeng Zhao, the co-founder of the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange Binance, as the strategic advisor of the Pakistan Crypto Council.
The body also signed a pact with World Liberty Financial, a cryptocurrency platform backed by President Donald Trump, to “accelerate” blockchain innovation in the Asian country.
Price Action: At the time of writing, BTC was exchanging hands at $109,336.25, up 1.08% in the last 24 hours, according to data from Benzinga Pro.
Photo Courtesy: PalSand on Shutterstock.com
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