Actually, it's not, globally it ranks 30th and only 8th in Asia.
Just for comparison, Laos produces 17Twh a year from hydropower while Japan 85, even Vietnam has 63Twh a year production.
They are seen as rich in hydropower because they also consume very little energy so they don't need additional sources of energy, the average consumption per capita is just 566, while in France is 6,702.


And it's better to experiment first and let people choose than force it down their throats and face repercussions.
Those who will want to use will do so, the ones who don't are free to ignore it, that should be the normal approach for every country, changing a bad system to a promising one using fast forward will not always guarantee success, and in this case, we're talking about implications on a nationals scale, not the finances of some people who have assumed their risk when buying and trading.

Bitcoin in Laos isn't very much popular compared to other Southeast Asian countries. From what I can remember, only a small percentage of their population is engaged with the internet, and most of them are still relatively poor when compared to other citizens of the neighboring countries. Perhaps what they mean by legalize is drafting laws and creating a regulatory framework for future laws that they can pass re: bitcoin and cryptocurrencies. They can very well use it if adoption picks up pace in the country, that I am sure.

Internet connections are very important to communicate with other people worldwide. Maybe their government will take action regarding this problem and since bitcoin transaction is usually have done on the internet, there is more adoption once there is an internet.

I think it takes time before Laos will take fully accepted bitcoin in their country and until now their government is undecided regarding this issue.

IMO, I believe it can bring opportunity in Laos if it's true, Laos is a landlocked nation with an abundance of flowing rivers that produce high output of electricity from hydropower plants so it has no pollution issues to discuss, and its good for Bitcoin mining because as we all know Bitcoin mining was a hot topic in the previous discussions because of dirty electricity source while mining Bitcoins.

Legalize may mean that it can be allowed to used by the people as an asset. I am not sure whether allowing an asset to be traded like gold and silver needs legal backing or a decree from the government but all I know is, when it is allowed, then it means it is allowed. There will be no laws that would prevent it or make it illegal, but also it is like a gray area where if you lose money because of mishandling crypto investments, there would be no government insurance that would pay you.

yeah, it was too early to make a conclusion. They are just about to start and surely it wasn't easy for them but I believe they could find the momentum especially when there is a mutual understanding between the government and the community. Now now, we can never tell that what happens to EL Salvador will also happen to Laos or to the other country, that is actually different as it will matter how the government handled and support the adoption which is a big factor that will affect the results.

In a way, I approve of the above. Crypto will be inevitable and for sure it is only a matter of time but before that comes we need to bring our focus to today and seeing all of these talks/promises it is great. But essentially we want to see it implemented, and not by Asian countries but also Europe as well as other continents.

For sure, Ukraine and Laos are a step up but more countries are needed for the wider adoption everyone is talking about. Though so far this is progress nonetheless.

Let's get things straight, though. Electricity is not a problem, but a challenge. And we do need a bit more awareness to bring the discussion away from "Bitcoin mining is consuming power the size of X country", to "the cost-benefit" of securing the network.

I daresay any kind of mining legalization probably recognises that the cost does come with significant benefit for a universal monetary system.

Besides, power consumption is hardly unique to mining -- even without all the media distractions about how it's so energy-intensive, the industry itself is constantly trying to make things more efficient.

Of course this is good news if many countries are starting to legalize bitcoin. considering there are several countries that oppose and ban bitcoin these days. Regarding whether the news is true or not, we know that there are a lot of inaccurate news out there, but I hope this is accurate news. if many countries legalize bitcoin, of course the population will also be helped and automatically the country's economy can also be helped if people can use bitcoin well. I hope that bitcoin will continue to develop well in the future.