PANews reported on October 17th that according to Reuters, Laos' Deputy Energy Minister Chanthaboun Soukaloun revealed that Laos is considering stopping power supply to cryptocurrency mining farms by the first quarter of 2026. The goal is to reallocate domestic electricity to industries that contribute more to economic growth. The government's current goal is to prioritize power supply to industries such as artificial intelligence data centers, metal refining, and electric vehicles. Laos has begun to cut power supply to cryptocurrency mining farms, which currently consume about 150 megawatts of electricity, a 70% decrease from the peak of 500 megawatts in 2021 and 2022.

Soukaloun said: "The cryptocurrency industry cannot create value compared to supplying electricity to industrial or commercial users. In 2021, due to the domestic electricity oversupply, we proposed to the government to supply electricity to the cryptocurrency mining industry, but now the industry creates few jobs and there is no supply chain that can benefit the economy. Laos originally planned to stop power supply this year, but because of abundant rainfall, hydropower production increased and electricity exports to neighboring Thailand and Vietnam increased, the power supply continued."