When US-authorities confiscated bitcoins worth 15 billions of US-Dollar these days from the Prince Group conglomerate in Cambodia, there was a mention of Laos: Warp Data Technology Lao Sole Co., Ltd, a cryptocurrency mining company, was sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury for its alleged involvement in a global cybercrime network. It is accused by U.S. und U.K.-authorities of being part of a larger criminal network that launders money from crypto scams through bitcoin mining. It is linked to the Prince Group, which has been identified as a transnational criminal organization.
How did Laos get to this point? It all started as China's top regulators banned crypto trading and mining in September 2021 - out of fear that privately operated digital currencies could undermine the control of the financial and monetary system and promote financial crime.
The crypto industry reacted by driving up its operations in several countries in South East asia, "together with the establishment of high-risk and unterground cryptocurrency exchanges", as UNODC reported. Probably hundred of thousands of crypto mining machines in China were waiting to be used elsewhere.
Despite all these warnings the government of Laos decided to promote bitcoin mining, as the Laotian Times reported on November 3, 2021: Laos to Mine Bitcoin and Repay National Debt.
Lao Minister of Finance, Bounchom Ubonpaseuth, told the National Assembly, that mining the cryptocurrency could contribute 28,963 billion in revenue to the national budget of Laos for 2022
. The government of Laos authorized six companies to trade and mine cryptocurrencies, while relevant ministries were told to draft regulations governing the use of cryptocurrencies. Finance Minister Bounchom said, the revenue would be used for priority projects of the government including the payment of national debt, which has grown also due to lending for the construction of Laos-China-Railway.
These companies have been given the green light for bitcoin mining in Laos:
. Warp Data Technology Laos,
. Phongsubthavy Road & Bridge Construction Co. (working in hydropower)
. Sisaket Construction Company Limited
. Boupha Road-Bridge Design Survey Co., Ltd.,
. Joint Development Bank
. Phousy Group
Crypto mining needs a lot of energy. No problem for Laos: Its ambition to become the “battery of Southeast Asia” with the construction of hydropower dams along the Mekong and its tributaries has left the country awash with surplus electricity.
It is not clear, how all these companies succeeded with planned mining operations. But Mapcarta shows a location of
Warp Data Tech in Luang Prabang Province. In Champasak province in Southern Laos LCM, a joint venture between AIF Group and United Power of Asia (UPA), inaugurated a crypto mining farm. The plan was to run 6000 mining machines here. Phousy Group was stopped by Bank of Laos, when it started operations of cryptocurrency exchange named Welnance. In May 2024 there were reports of problems: Higher electricity demand due to cryptocurrency mining and erratic rainfall had led to power shortages in the country. The cryptocurrency mining then made up over a third of Laotian power demand according to Reuters.
But now, only days after the communication of the sanctions by U.S.- and U.K.-authlorities, the Lao government annlounced a sudden U-Turn: Laos plans to pull the plug on crypto miners by early 2026. The government seeks to redirect domestic power to industries that contribute more to economic growth, the country's deputy energy minister Chanthaboun Soukaloun told Reuters, aiming to prioritise power for sectors such as AI data centres, metals refining and electric vehicles. Laos has already begun scaling back supply to crypto miners, who currently consume around 150 megawatts of electricity, down 70% from a peak of 500 MW in 2021 and 2022, Soukaloun said.
#treasuresoflaos is about Laos and the Mekong. You find reviews and pictures by people, who have been there, Google Maps and background
Your Guide for Discovering Laos: Treasures of Laos
Discover Luang Prabang: Hotels and Guesthouses in Luang Prabang and opinions of people, who have been there
Si Phan Don - 4000 Islands in the Mekong: Discover islands, mighty waterfalls and Irrawaddy dolphins
Showing posts with label China ban. Show all posts
Showing posts with label China ban. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 22, 2025
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)