Laos plans to pull plug on crypto miners by early 2026

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Crypto operators, drawn by cheap non-fossil energy, flocked to Laos following a 2021 policy shift that triggered a rapid expansion in mining activity.

PHOTO: AFP

KUALA LUMPUR - Laos is considering halting electricity supply to cryptocurrency miners by the first quarter of 2026, as it seeks to redirect domestic power to industries that contribute more to economic growth, the country’s deputy energy minister told Reuters.

Crypto operators, drawn by cheap non-fossil energy, flocked to the landlocked South-east Asian nation following a 2021 policy shift that triggered a rapid expansion in mining activity.

But the government now aims to prioritise power for sectors such as artificial intelligence data centres, metals refining and electric vehicles, its deputy energy minister Chanthaboun Soukaloun said on Oct 16.

Laos has already begun scaling back supply to crypto miners, who currently consume around 150MW of electricity, down 70 per cent from a peak of 500 MW in 2021 and 2022, Mr Soukaloun said.

“Crypto doesn’t create value compared to supplying it to industrial or commercial consumers. We proposed to the government in 2021 to supply to crypto mining due to the oversupply of electricity domestically,” Mr Soukaloun told Reuters, adding that the industry creates few jobs and does not have a supply chain that benefits the economy.

Mr Soukaloun said that Laos had initially planned to end supply in 2025, but continued due to abundant rainfall that boosted hydropower output and enabled increased exports to neighbouring Thailand and Vietnam.

“I think by the end of the first quarter of 2026, we