Pakistan explores Bitcoin mining with surplus energy, but landfill methane link remains unconfirmed

Pakistan is making moves on two separate energy fronts: capturing methane from massive landfills, and mining Bitcoin with surplus electricity from underused power plants. While social media buzz has framed the story as Pakistan deploying Bitcoin miners powered by landfill methane, the actual picture involves two distinct government-backed initiatives that haven’t been integrated. One focuses on landfill gas capture for carbon credits. The other channels excess coal-plant electricity toward crypto mining and AI data centers. Both are real. The combination is not, at least not yet.

What Pakistan is actually doing with Bitcoin mining

In May 2025, the Pakistan Crypto Council, led by Bilal Bin Saqib, announced plans to allocate roughly 2,000 MW of surplus electricity for Bitcoin mining and AI data center operations. The power comes from coal-fired plants currently operating at approximately 15% capacity, meaning the country is paying to maintain generation infrastructure that mostly sits idle.

The landfill methane side of the equation

Separately, Pakistani authorities have been advancing methane capture projects at major landfill sites. The most prominent is the Mehmood Booti dumpsite, a 43-acre site that has accumulated approximately 13 million tons of waste since 1997. The Ravi Urban Development Authority (RUDA) and the Lahore Waste Management Company (LWMC) are leading the effort there.

An investment of roughly Rs5 billion (approximately $17.86 million) is going toward methane capture, flaring, energy conversion, leachate treatment, urban forestry, and solar park construction at the site. The project aims to generate around 100,000 tons of carbon credits annually, with target revenue exceeding Rs2 billion per year.

Another site, Lakhodair, is focused on generating millions of carbon credits aligned with Article 6 carbon market frameworks. These projects’ primary objective is carbon credit generation and emissions reduction, not powering crypto operations.

Roughly 73% of Pakistan’s waste sector emissions come from landfills, which contribute about 3% to the country’s overall greenhouse gas inventory. Capturing that methane instead of letting it escape into the atmosphere has clear climate benefits, and under international carbon trading mechanisms, it can also be monetized directly.

Why the two haven’t merged

Globally, landfill-gas-to-Bitcoin operations do exist. Several projects in the US and elsewhere have demonstrated that methane from decomposing waste can power generators, which in turn run mining rigs. Pakistan has all the ingredients for this kind of project: massive, decades-old landfills producing significant methane, a government actively pursuing both methane capture and crypto mining, and a regulatory body, the PCC, that is explicitly trying to attract investment into digital asset infrastructure.

The methane projects are focused on carbon credits and emission reduction. The Bitcoin mining initiative is focused on monetizing surplus coal power. No confirmed project has bridged the two. A methane-powered Bitcoin mining operation would require additional infrastructure: gas capture systems connected to generators connected to mining hardware, with all the regulatory and engineering coordination that implies.

What this means for Pakistan’s crypto ambitions

The methane capture projects at Mehmood Booti and Lakhodair are advancing on their own timeline, focused on carbon market revenue. The PCC’s mining initiative is advancing on a separate track with coal-surplus power. If Pakistan does eventually connect these initiatives, it would join a small but growing list of countries and companies using waste-derived energy for Bitcoin mining. Until that happens, what exists is a country making two separate bets on energy monetization, one through carbon markets and one through crypto.