Bhutan said on Wednesday that it will use $1 billion from its national cryptocurrency reserves to build a “Mindfulness City,” which it believes will serve as the country’s economic center.
Buddhist majority Bhutan, which is sandwiched between China and India, promotes a policy that puts “Gross National Happiness” ahead of economic progress.
However, this hasn’t helped the government address the high rate of unemployment, which has led to thousands of young people leaving the nation.
The landlocked kingdom unveiled highly anticipated plans for its “Gelephu Mindfulness City” (GMC), a special economic zone near the Indian border, in 2023 as part of larger initiatives to buck that trend by attracting foreign investment.
Negative carbon Additionally, Bhutan has actively supported hydroelectric projects, making a sizable profit from the export of electricity to India, a country in dire need of energy.
It has also used the inexpensive power for its own mining of cryptocurrencies, namely bitcoin.
In an address on Wednesday to commemorate the nation’s national day, King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck declared, “I must ensure that every Bhutanese is a custodian, stakeholder, and beneficiary of GMC.”
“I am announcing today the allocation of up to 10,000 BTC (bitcoin), valued at roughly $1 billion, to support this policy.” This pledge is for our nation, our youth, and our people.
In 2023, the king declared that Gelephu will become a “Mindfulness City, encompassing conscious and sustainable businesses, inspired by Buddhist spiritual heritage.”
The World Bank estimates that Bhutan’s GDP per person is about $3,718.
According to the World Bank, its state-run Druk Holding and Investments (DHI) committed $539 million, or about a fifth of the country’s GDP, to start cryptocurrency activities in 2021–2022.
Since then, it has amassed sizable cryptocurrency holdings, albeit the precise amount is unknown.
SOURCE: DAWN NEWS
