Belarusian president, Alexander Lukashenko, told the energy minister, Alexei Kushnarenko, that he wants to use excess energy from the grid to mine cryptocurrency and create a national reserve. “Look at this mining”, said Lukashenko, “More and more people are turning to me. If it is profitable for us, let’s do it. We have excess electricity. Let them make this cryptocurrency and so on”. Belarus has an excess energy supply resulting from the upgrade of the nuclear power plant with a second power unit in May 2023. The country is also considering a second nuclear power plant. Shortly after Lukashenko formed his new government, he started investigating ways to mine cryptocurrency from excess energy. One priority of his new government is to optimise the country’s 5,700-kilometre grid. “The most important thing”, said Lukashenko, “is to upgrade the power grid infrastructure taking into account the growing demand for electricity from households and the economy”. Belarus could imitate the Kingdom of Bhutan, which has excess hydropower energy. The country has dedicated 100 megawatts to Bitcoin mining and is considering another 500 megawatts to boost its mining capabilities. The government currently holds a Bitcoin reserve of around $1 billion. Viktor Karankevich, the previous energy minister, announced in December 2023, that cryptocurrency mining was popular in the country, with Chinese and Russian mining businesses bursting with popularity, and the Belarus power grid was robust enough to handle the increase in demand. Lukashenko mentioned recent developments in America regarding attitudes toward crypto, especially President Trump’s new crypto reserve and plans to boost the mining business in America. “Moreover, you see the path the world is going, especially the largest economy in the world. They announced yesterday that they will keep in reserve,” said Lukashenko. “Therefore, there will be demand for them. Well, maybe we should do it ourselves. Well, we attract some investors, sell them electricity, although I do not rule it out. But we need to do it ourselves. There are such proposals. I think that you will step over this bureaucracy and report what needs to be done.” Daniel Batton, environmental researcher, claims that Bitcoin mining makes the energy sector more sustainable. After reviewing scientific literature on the topic, he concludes that Bitcoin mining opens up opportunities that increase the likelihood of using green energy methods and reducing the carbon footprint of energy companies, a likely result when Bitcoin mining uses excess energy on the grid. The war in Ukraine, however, has halted foreign investment in Belarus’ cryptocurrency mining. Lukashenko has been an ally of Russia’s Vladimir Putin and has suffered from sanctions imposed by Western countries against Russia and Belarus. The first nuclear plant in Belarus started running in June 2021, providing an abundance of energy that could be used for crypto mining. The reactor has a 1,100 megawatt capacity. A second reactor would therefore add another 1,100 megawatts to the grid. Russia finances both reactors.
