Satellite images from Planet Labs, Satellite Vu and Google Earth reveal the location of four state-owned cryptocurrency mining enterprises in the Kingdom of Bhutan.
Satellite images show long rectangular hangars among dense forests and mountainous terrain.. Sources familiar with crypto investments in the small Southeast Asian country told several media outlets that the hangars house mining devices and cooling systems for data centers.. They are connected to powerful power lines and transformers connecting the farms to local hydroelectric power stations.
One of the objects was discovered near the Dochula Pass, an area with 108 memorial objects considered inviolable and even sacred. Other farms are located in the remote regions of Trongse and Dagan.
Analysis of historical satellite images shows: construction of the facilities began back in 2020. However, officials of the Kingdom of Bhutan have never mentioned or disclosed the presence of state-owned mining farms, nor the location and scale of the facilities.
In August, Bitdeer, founded by the owner of Bitmain, announced the completion of construction of its own mining farm for 23,000 ASIC miners in the Bhutanese city of Gedu.