- Bitcoin mining in Ethiopia is rapidly growing, with 600MW of energy powering operations and further expansion on the horizon.
- State-owned Ethiopian Electric Power (EEP) is supporting this growth, planning to add hundreds more megawatts to the mining sector.
- Contributing approximately 2.5% to the global Bitcoin hashrate, Ethiopia’s low-cost energy is attracting international interest and investment.
Ethiopia is quickly becoming the new hub for Bitcoin mining globally with 600MW of energy being consumed by the mines. This development was disclosed by Ethan Vera, co-founder and COO of Luxor, a mining services firm that recently paid a visit to several Bitcoin mining facilities in Ethiopia with other industry players and Ethiopian officials.
Vera highlighted in a recent X post that Ethiopian Electric Power (EEP), which is the state-owned power company of Ethiopia, is playing a role in the expansion of Bitcoin mining industry. The mining operations are to be powered by 600 MW of electricity with hundreds of MWs more expected to be added this year.
Bitcoin Mining Tech Deployment
Vera revealed that Bitcoin miners in Ethiopia are using mid-generation mining machinery, some of the famous ones being Antminer S19J Pro and Avalon A1346. These machines are capable of producing a hashrate of about 100 terahashes per second (TH/s) and consume 30 Joules per terahash (J/TH) thus suitable for the Ethiopian mining situation that enjoys relatively low power prices
Using 600 MW of energy for Bitcoin mining means that the mining farms of Ethiopia have a total hashrate capacity of approximately 19 EH/s. This figure is not a small contribution, given that it represents about 2.5 % of the total hashrate of the global Bitcoin network, from a country that has only recently joined the ranks of the mining of crypto-currencies.
Global Bitcoin Mining Shift
This can be seen in line with other ongoing trends of the global Bitcoin mining industry especially after China banned cryptocurrency mining in 2021. Earlier, Bloomberg highlighted that Chinese investors and mining industry representatives have been looking for business in Ethiopia due to its relatively cheap and abundant electricity.
In the course of the increasing demand for Bitcoin mining across the globe, the Ethiopian industry is getting ready for further development. The enhanced power allocation and global attention may enhance the position of the country in the African Bitcoin mining market that is continuously expanding. This rise also points toward the fact that Ethiopia has the capability to be the center for cryptocurrency activities given that it has abundant energy resources for the future of digital currency.
