The Forbes on 15th of last month laid bare Bhutan’s jealously guarded secret foray into crypto currency investment. That forced the Druk Holding and Investment (DHI) to come clean about Bhutan’s hitherto unadmitted investment into the realm of the incredible and the poorly comprehended. From all accounts crypto currency mining is a rarefied domain of the bold and the daring. But all are in agreement that it is the thing of the future!!
The digital Tiru
I am told that one can speak to a million experts on the subject and each of them would have completely different interpretations of his/her own - with one exception - absolute uniformity in the divergence of views. The most outlandish of them would be WRONG and the most innocuous would be RIGHT.
The novelty of the idea is that a minuscule country like Bhutan has dared tread the path that few other loftier nations have not dared walk.
The question whether we did right or wrong will have to remain mute for the present - what is to be admired is that we had the gumption to go for it - full throttle! Striking a partnership with the crypto currency evangelist and China’s #2 crypto billionaire Jihan Wu and his company Bitdeer operating out of Singapore is, in my view, another strategically smart move - his credentials in the field is impressive and second to none.
Strangely some tell me that while most of us within the country remain clueless about the new-fangled opportunity, some Bhutanese abroad are already investing in the crypto wallet - attributing, in part, to the sudden dip in inward remittances of $$.
Bhutan is considered among the world’s most preferred places for locating crypto currency farms. The reason: we have among the world's cheapest raw material for the product. And I believe that over time we can make it many fold cheaper. Perhaps not at the level of what Kuwait can offer currently - world’s cheapest at US$ 1,400.00 per Bitcoin. But at US$11,750.00 per Bitcoin, Bhutan is miles ahead of India’s US$40,450.00 per Bitcoin and the world’s most expensive – at US$246,530.00 per Bitcoin - for Venezuela.
For me, I have only one fear - will the three or four of our crypto currency farms have a bearing on the country’s burgeoning demand for the raw material - for more critical internal consumption? If yes, that is something we MUST NOT HAVE. Remember - a bird in hand is worth more than many in the bush.
In the dark and gloomy lanes and by-lanes of the crypto currency realm, there is not yet a single clairvoyant who can predict for certain the future of Bitcoins. Already crashes and tumbles are a norm.
But hell!! - there is no gain without pain, right?
Good read. However, I must point out that in this case, there is absolutely no PAIN at all because no personal or company shareholders’ monies are at risk.. Whether GAIN or NO GAIN the citizens of Bhutan will feel the real pain. Remember all too familiar Malaysian Development Investment fund 1MDB how all it came down to. Sovereign funds management will be rigged with misadventures & high stake risk gambling until CHECK & BALANCE such as parliamentary oversights or RTI are guaranteed & instituted. Anyways…. Hoping for good future for our younger generations.
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