Alexander Lukashenko, president of Belarus, said he wants the government to begin mining cryptocurrency using spare power infrastructure, Cointelegraph reported.
Lukashenko, speaking at the opening of the Petrikovsky mining and processing plant Friday (Aug. 27), said workers should be pursuing crypto mining rather than leaving the country for lesser-paying farming positions abroad, the report stated.
He said Belarus has enough electricity resources to pursue cryptocurrency mining, with a number of abandoned sites that could be possible revenue generators, according to the report.
“We must understand, they are not waiting for us anywhere,” he said, per the report. “… Build something based on electricity. After all, start mining cryptocurrencies or whatever it’s called. There is enough electricity in the country.”
The Petrikovsky plant is the largest investment project of state-owned Belaruskali, which is one of the largest global producers of potash fertilizers, the report stated. The Belarus government has also been angling to get more into crypto mining. Earlier this year, it was looking into the matter and analyzing the risks and benefits.
In other news, between Aug. 26 and 28, Market America Worldwide and SHOP.COM’s annual International Convention took place online, and it was revealed that SHOP.COM would begin accepting cryptocurrency payments, according to a press release.
“Today I’m announcing that SHOP.COM is going to be offering bitcoin, ethereum and several other cryptocurrencies through BitPay,” said Market America Worldwide President and Chief Operating Officer Marc Ashley in the release. “We’re going to be offering this at SHOP.COM sites worldwide in all of our market countries. We went with BitPay because they are the industry leader. They are the world’s largest in bitcoin and crypto payment services.”
BitPay Chief Commercial Officer Sonny Singh said in the release that he likes SHOP.COM’s international presence.
“The fact that you’re only doing 40% of your volume in America means it’s a really global brand,” he said, according to the release. “In countries like Taiwan, Thailand, Argentina, Brazil and Indonesia, it’s very hard to make payments. Credit cards are not everywhere, and in those countries, BitPay and crypto is the cheapest, quickest payment option to accept bitcoin and to receive crypto payment options as well.”
About: In spite of their price volatility and regulatory uncertainty, new PYMNTS research shows that 58 percent of multinational firms are already using at least one form of cryptocurrency — especially when moving funds across borders. The new Cryptocurrency, Blockchain and Global Business survey, a PYMNTS and Circle collaboration, polls 500 executives looks at the potential and the pitfalls facing crypto as it moves into the financial mainstream.