‘We have excess electricity’: Belarus president orders development of crypto mining

After forming a new government, Alexander Lukashenko has prioritized boosting Belarus’ energy grid and using excess power to mine cryptocurrency.

Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko has instructed his energy minister to begin developing the country’s cryptocurrency mining industry, signaling a growing intent to generate additional revenue streams from the country’s excess energy supplies. 

According to a March 4 report by local media outlet BelTA, President Lukashenko passed on the instructions to the newly appointed minister of energy, Alexei Kushnarenko.

“Look at this mining,” Lukashenko said, according to a translated version of the report. “If it is profitable for us, let’s do it. We have excess electricity. Let them make this cryptocurrency and so on.”

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