Surplus electricity in Pakistan could power its future as a cryptocurrency titan.
In March, the newly formed Pakistan Crypto Council had its inaugural meeting, which was presided over by Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, according to Profit. The concept of using the country's surplus electricity for bitcoin mining was discussed at length.
Pakistan's energy surplus comes as a result of "large-scale construction of new power plants," according to Reuters — and mostly coal-fired ones at that. When the plants are running, the energy they produce has nowhere to go.
The crypto proposal is an option to offset the surplus.
According to Dawn, "Some estimates suggest that bitcoin miners at present spend up to 60-70 per cent of their total earnings on electricity costs." With Pakistan's surplus, the country can offer electricity at a favorable rate.
Some might argue that the endeavors by the PCC to utilize the power resources already at its disposal are better than creating energy specifically for crypto mining. But the effect of cryptocurrency on the environment continues to be a cause for concern — particularly given that coal is the dirtiest fuel around.
More broadly, a United Nations study from 2023 states that "to offset the CO2 emissions of Bitcoin mining in 2021–2022, 3.9 billion trees must be planted, taking up an area equivalent to the size of the Netherlands, Switzerland, or Denmark."
The machines powering crypto require massive amounts of energy, sometimes collectively more than entire countries use in a year.
Other kinds of cryptocurrency have made strides to utilize more environmentally conscious crypto, such as algorand, which simplified how users interact with the blockchain, requiring substantially less energy. Furthermore, the company Albanian Minerals uses naturally occurring green magnesium as the resource backing its crypto.
While funneling existing energy in Pakistan into crypto does not eliminate the harm dirty fuel-based electric energy has on the planet, it does keep the resource from going to waste. More so, these endeavors in crypto have huge implications for the financial state of the country.
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Yes — it sets a positive example ⛪ "This is the beginning of a new digital chapter for our economy," said Aurangzeb, per Arab News. "We are committed to building a transparent, future-ready financial ecosystem that attracts investment, empowers our youth and puts Pakistan on the global map as a leader in emerging technologies."
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