The IMF opposes Pakistan’s cryptocurrency mining plan, which encounters a snag.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has not approved the federal government’s proposal to supply 2,000 megawatts of electricity at discounted rates for Bitcoin mining.
According to Power Division sources, the government made three presentations of this plan to the IMF during negotiations, but the international financial organization was not persuaded.
According to the IMF, previous attempts to provide inexpensive electricity under industrial status did not work out well, and these concessions ultimately turn into a kind of “tax holiday.”
It sparked questions about the government’s approach, asking: what is the plan to sell the same electricity at market rates after it is supplied at subsidized rates?
In an effort to convince the IMF, the government has also distributed this presentation to the World Bank and other tripartite donors, according to sources.
The government intends to provide electricity for Bitcoin mining at a rate of up to Rs 24 per unit. At the moment, the nation has 7,000 megawatts of excess electricity, of which 2,000 megawatts are being considered for use in cryptocurrency mining.
The government is still working to persuade the IMF to accept the proposal because it believes the project could generate foreign exchange for the nation.
