Belarus announces it will use nuclear power to mine Bitcoin

Alexander Lukashenko, President of Belarus

The profits from mining activities have declined during the long bear market over the past year, but this does not mean that all investors will withdraw from the field. For example, Belarus has not given up its plan to develop a digital economy. The government believes that it has enough resources and will soon have enough cheap energy to power its cryptocurrency mining and profit from mining activities.

Recently, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko held a meeting with IT experts. At the meeting, he reiterated the government's vision of protecting and developing the digital industry and promised that there will be enough resources to achieve this goal. He said that Belarus will soon use excess electricity to power new cryptocurrency mining farms.

Lukashenko was referring to the country's new nuclear power plant (NPP) currently under construction in the Astravyets district of the Grodno region, right next to the Lithuanian border. The NPP will have two nuclear reactors. The first unit is scheduled to be operational by the end of the year, and the second unit will start generating electricity in summer 2020. The total capacity of the new NPP will be around 2,400 MW.

At the meeting, he told the young IT experts: "We have studied this course with you and our stance will not waver. Just provide the demand and we will solve all problems."

The Belarusian leader assured that the government will continue to support the country's digital economy, stressing: "We will help you as much as possible. This is our responsibility."

As a former Soviet republic, Belarus has become a close ally of Russia and is often criticized for its authoritarian regime. Last year, the country legalized crypto activities within the High-Tech Park (HTP). On March 28, 2018, the presidential decree "On the Development of the Digital Economy" officially came into effect. The decree will introduce tax breaks and other incentives for crypto companies until January 1, 2023. In addition, to ensure the smooth implementation of the decree, the Minsk government adopted new crypto auditing standards and later expanded the scope of the regulatory framework.

It is understood that this friendly policy towards cryptocurrency is part of the country's efforts to become a global IT center, which aims to attract companies from all over the world with a friendly environment. Since the high-tech park is regarded as the country's "Silicon Valley", there are now hundreds of entrepreneurs here, including market players from the cryptocurrency field.

Original source: https://news.bitcoin.com/will-belarus-be-the-first-country-with-nuclear-powered-bitcoin-mining/