Bitdeer to raise $500 million for Bitcoin mining in Bhutan

Nasdaq-listed Bitdeer, a crypto mining company led by former Bitmain Technologies CEO Jihan Wu, today announced a strategic partnership with Druk Holding & Investments (DHI), the commercial arm of the Royal Government of Bhutan.

The scope of the partnership is to start crypto mining that will deploy “100% carbon-free” hydropower in a new mining center in the Kingdom of Bhutan, the company said in a press release on Wednesday.

To that end, Bitdeer and DHI plan to establish a closed-end fund with a goal of raising up to $500 million “from the international community,” the announcement said.

Fundraising is expected to start at the end of the month.

“We are excited to work together with DHI to access Bhutan’s zero-emission power to enable sustainable blockchain technologies that will ultimately form an immutable bedrock for a global store of value,” Bitdeer chairman Jihan Wu said in a statement. The venture is hoped to also drive technology growth in the region, Wu said.

Singapore-based Bitdeer, which has already deployed cryptocurrency mining data centers in the US and Norway, went public last month on the Nasdaq exchange through a merger with Blue Safari Group (SPAC).

According to a regulatory filing, Bitdeer plans to establish a 100-megawatt operation in Bhutan, with construction scheduled to begin in the second quarter of 2023 and wrap up between July and September.

Bitdeer did not immediately respond Decrypt their request for comment.

Bets on cheap hydropower

Nestled between the Tibet Autonomous Region of China and several northern states of India, Bhutan has an abundance of low-cost electricity generated by hydroelectric power stations built along the banks of the country’s rivers.

This makes Bhutan a natural choice for crypto mining, with a recent The Bhutanese report claiming that DHI was one of the early players in the local mining industry when the price of Bitcoin was around $5,000.

The last time the leading cryptocurrency traded at these levels was in March 2020, according to CoinGecko.

Notably, the report also said that DHI has previously borrowed funds from the now-bankrupt crypto-lending companies BlockFi and Celsius, with the company’s CEO Ujjwal Deep Dahal claiming that “Bhutan had borrowed some digital assets as a loan to make certain investments and everything has been done.” paid back and settled without dues.”