The Laos state budget is expected to raise $ 194 million from retiring coin-op miners

The Laos government’s crypto trading and mining pilot is expected to add around $ 194 million to the country’s projected total domestic revenue in 2022.

2 reported by Malaysian news agency The Star, the Laos government’s recent attempt to capitalize on China’s crypto-mining crackdown could bring the country 2 trillion kip – about $ 194 million at the time of publication – in revenue from six companies .

Companies in the public-private mining pilot program approved in September include Wap Data Technology Laos, Phongsubthavy Road and Bridge Construction, Sisaket Construction Co., Ltd., Boupha Road and Bridge Design Survey, Development Bank Chung and Phousy Group.

The government said the funding will increase the revenue projected for the 2022 Congressional Draft Budget by 20% compared to 2021. The legislature plans to use the additional income for “programs”.

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While the Laotian government has licensed six crypto mining companies, the country’s central bank has issued more than one warning over the years to warn citizens of the risks associated with crypto assets. Unregulated death is in Laos mostly still illegal. However, the Bank of Lao PDR is reportedly considering developing a central bank digital currency partnership with Japanese distributed ledger technology company Soramitsu.