Pakistan plans to utilize part of its surplus electricity for Bitcoin mining and AI data centres, according to Bilal Bin Saqib, the CEO of Pakistan’s Crypto Council. The country is currently grappling with challenges in its energy sector, including high electricity tariffs and surplus power generation capacity. To address these issues, Pakistan is exploring ways to allocate excess power to support the growing crypto and AI sectors.
Discussions with several mining firms have already taken place, with the location of the mining centres to be decided based on where surplus energy is available. In an effort to further strengthen its crypto ecosystem, Pakistan has appointed Changpeng Zhao, the founder of Binance, as a strategic advisor to the Crypto Council. Zhao will guide the country on blockchain infrastructure, regulatory frameworks, and national initiatives such as digital currency and crypto mining.
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Pakistan is home to 15-20 million crypto users and ranks as the third-largest global freelancer economy. Despite crypto not being fully regulated, the country is one of the top 10 global crypto adopters. The Crypto Council aims to foster innovation through regulatory sandboxes and provide blockchain and AI education to the youth, thereby promoting job creation and positioning Pakistan as a hub for emerging tech talent.
