Belarusian government plans to mine cryptocurrencies

The Belarusian Ministry of Energy has started investigating the potential of mining Bitcoin officially by the government. The decision will be made after the investigation about its possibilities, benefits, and advantages are established.

Viktor Karankevich, the head of the energy department, stated that the country doesn’t want to be left behind as Bitcoin mining is growing rapidly in the world.

Belarus is more open to Bitcoin mining

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The Belarusian government is following the footsteps of countries like Canada, China, the United States, and Russia in this aspect. But the government wants to take precautions before making any decision. According to him, the ministry wants to be sure mining at the state level will not come along with potential risks to energy and other industries.

Belarus is one of the countries with strong beliefs in cryptocurrencies and their potential benefits to the economy. However, the country has also been talking about the benefits of mining Bitcoin for years now. The project was initially billed to begin in 2019 when President Alexander Lukashenko implemented the country’s first nuclear power plant.

Belarus has always been crypto-friendly

The country also has a crypto-friendly environment, as rules and regulation in the crypto industry is a bit fair compared to other countries.

Karankevich stated that the project is a new direction for the country. But to make sure things are done properly without too many risks, it has to put certain things into consideration.

“In order to get started with it, we have to conduct a detailed study of this issue,” he added.

Belarus has also been trying to position itself as a crypto-friendly country. Series of policies have been signed to favor the industry in the country. In 2017, President Lukashenko signed a law that will speed up the development of the country’s digital economy.

The law legalized crypto-based activities such as trading crypto-assets and crypto mining. Two years ago, the largest bank in the country, Belarusbank, hinted that it wanted to set up a crypto exchange. The country has so far been accommodating for businesses in the crypto industry.