Belarus President champions for cryptocurrency mining in the country

• Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko called for cryptocurrency mining in the country noting it has enough electricity.
• The president said the endeavour is more rewarding compared to low-ranking farming jobs overseas.

Alexander Lukashenko, president of the Republic of Belarus, is urging more cryptocurrency mining in his country. Speaking at the Petrikovsky Mining and Processing Plant opening earlier this week, Lukashenko gave a number of reasons for this. He noted that cryptocurrency mining on the home ground is more rewarding than modest farming jobs abroad. These include picking strawberries in Poland. He also urged for the construction of greenhouses for clean Bitcoin mining.

Additionally, the Eastern European nation president encouraged employees of the Belaruskali fertilizer company to start mining “cryptocurrencies or whatever it’s called” using whatever electric resources the country could spare.

We must understand, they are not waiting for us anywhere. And if someone is waiting […] Maybe on the plantations, as Ukrainians often say, the Poles there or the Germans have to squirm, pick strawberries,

Electricity in Belarus is sufficient for crypto mining

Moreover, he emphasized that the country has enough electricity to power the crypto mining infrastructure.

Create something with electricity. In the end, start mining cryptocurrency, or whatever it’s called. There is enough electricity in the country.

Notably, Belarus is one of the crypto-friendly nations in the world. Since December 2017, Bitcoin (BTC) and other cryptocurrencies in the country have been legalized. This happened following the adoption of the Decree on the Digital Economy. The move was meant to bolster growth in the private sector and woo foreign investors.

More so, the nation temporarily waived all crypto-related taxes until 2023 and continues to promote the use of digital currencies. In November last year, the leading bank in Belarus opened a cryptocurrency exchange service. Customers can now buy and sell digital assets using their Visa cards.

The rise in crypto mining

While there is no official announcement, the president’s comments point towards the legalization of crypto mining activities. This could make Belarus join the likes of Iran and Kazakhstan. The Iranian government authorized Bitcoin mining in July 2019. The endeavour seemed ideal in saving the nation’s sinking economy following several trade sanctions. At one point, the nation even considered using digital currency for international trade.

Nevertheless, the government later banned Bitcoin mining in the country due to several blackouts resulting from illegal mining. The country still plans on diving back into the operations in early September.

Kazakhstan, on the other hand, entered the Bitcoin mining business following the Chinese sweeping crackdown on cryptocurrencies and their mining. At the same time, Chinese miners migrated to the US and North American nations. This not only ended the Chinese command of the Bitcoin mining industry but also made the network more decentralized.

As of reporting time, Bitcoin to traded around $50K, according to our data. The leading digital asset also had a 24-hour trading volume of $39.7 billion. BTC also accounted for about 42 percent of the crypto market at writing time.