Pakistan Bitcoin mining plan in limbo as IMF rejects power subsidies: Report

The IMF has reportedly blocked Pakistan’s plan to use cheap electricity for crypto mining, warning it could destabilize the energy market.

Pakistan’s plan to use surplus electricity for crypto mining has hit a roadblock after the International Monetary Fund (IMF) reportedly rejected a proposal to offer subsidized power to energy-intensive industries, including Bitcoin miners.

Pakistan’s Secretary of Power Fakhre Alam Irfan told the Senate committee on energy that the IMF claimed such measures could distort the energy market and worsen existing issues in the country’s fragile power sector, according to a report from Urdu-language news outlet Independent Urdu.

Although Pakistan has excess electricity, particularly during winter, the IMF remains concerned that pricing schemes could disrupt the market balance, per the report. Irfan said all significant energy policies must be approved by the IMF.

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