A Pakistani province plans to establish two pilot hydropower-powered mining farms to further the adoption of cryptocurrencies.
According to a Reuters report, Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province plans to build two pilot hydropower-powered cryptocurrency mining farms. While the report does not specify that the farms would mine Bitcoin particularly, the ongoing bull market in the Bitcoin price, the growing institutional acceptance of the asset and the overall market dominance of BTC would all indicate that they would.
While the cost of construction remains unknown, a senior government official, Zia Ullah Bangash, who is a provincial government advisor on science and technology, said:
“We’ve been approached by people who want to invest, and we want them to come to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, make some money, and for the province to make money from it as well.”
The announcement comes at a time when cryptocurrencies are gaining mainstream acceptance. The bitcoin price reaches record highs as investors like Elon Musk put funds into bitcoin, and the first major U.S. bank, Morgan Stanley, offers its wealth management clients access to bitcoin funds.
Pakistan has formed a federal committee to formulate a new crypto policy, even as neighboring India plans to ban cryptocurrencies outright. The cost of the mining project has yet to be determined.
According to reports, the KP Encryption Advisory Committee’s establishment is to review and discuss “necessary steps for regulation and legalization, as well as necessary measures.” A local cryptocurrency advocate and influencer, Waqar Zaka, is apparently playing an important role in establishing the committee and is expected to convince the local government. However, this initiative comes directly from the Pakistani government.
Both mining and trading of cryptocurrencies are currently in a legal gray area in Pakistan. The federal authorities would need to chart a clear path to legalize the sector before it could be officially opened to investors.