Ethiopia Emerges as Africa’s Leading Bitcoin Mining Hub

The co-founder and the COO of Luxor has shared that Ethiopia is fully operational with an increased hash rate for BTC as 600 MW for mining. Ethiopia’s most popular mid-generation mining rigs were the Avalon A1346 and Antminer S19J Pro models.

Ethan Vera has visited Ethiopia with government officials and people from the mining industry. He said that EEP has confirmed its support for Ethiopia’s Bitcoin mining industry. It has also promised to energize 100s of megawatts as 2024 ends. He further stated that, 

“Most mining farms had evaporative cooling (water walls) set up, although its not needed for the majority of the year given the cold climate.”

Ethiopia’s foray into the Bitcoin mining sector is a part of its larger strategy regarding digitalisation. Earlier this year, Ethiopian Investment Holdings unveiled a $250 million project with Hong Kong’s West Data Group to enhance its digital capacities. While the data on this agreement is not publicly available, the government considers it as an essential element of its high-performance computing initiatives.

This initiative is in line with a report from VanEck, an asset management firm, which named Ethiopia among seven countries that are mining Bitcoin with the support of their governments.

The country’s initiatives have come into focus, especially following China’s ban on crypto mining in 2021. Ethiopia’s cheap renewables, especially hydropower, has enticed investors, making it a potential hub for cryptocurrency

Ethiopia Rises in Global Mining Rankings

With its current output, Ethiopia is among the top contributors in Africa, contributing about 2.25% of the total Bitcoin hash rate. According to Luxor Mining data, Ethiopia ranks as the fourth biggest contributor after the United States, Hong Kong, as well as other Asian countries.

As previously reported by Cryptopolitan, there are currently 21 Bitcoin mining companies in Ethiopia. Of these, 19 companies are owned by China, which controls 90.4% of the country’s crypto mining activities. 

According to the International Trade Association, Ethiopia has a total installed generation capacity of 5,250MW, of which 90% of its power is hydro. Even though this is a vast energy supply, nearly half of the population has access to electricity.