Ethiopia has officially announced its foray into bitcoin mining, aligning itself with a growing list of countries that have integrated cryptocurrency mining into their national economic strategies. This development comes through a partnership between the Ethiopian government and Data Center Service PLC, a subsidiary of Hong Kong-based West Data Group. The collaboration is part of a major $250 million data mining project announced in the country.
Ethiopia joins the btc mining circle
Kal Kassa, CEO for Ethiopia at Hashlabs Mining, confirmed the initiative: “It's official! The Ethiopian government will mine bitcoins through its partnership with Data Center Service PLC… The partnership will target a $250 million data mining project in Ethiopia.” This statement underlines the government's commitment to leveraging cryptocurrency mining as part of its broader digital and economic strategy.
It's official!
The Ethiopian government will mine bitcoins through its partnership with Data Center Service PLC, a subsidiary of West Data Group…
Partnership will target $250 million data mining project in Ethiopia pic.twitter.com/2YfQ3QbUEO
—Kal Kassa (@KalKassa) February 15, 2024
The news was greeted with enthusiasm by key figures in the cryptocurrency community. Ben Van Hodl, COO of JAN3, which promotes bitcoin adoption in nation states, commented, “Another nation-state dives into bitcoin.” Similarly, Jaran Mellerud of Hashlabs Mining celebrated development as “A massive seal of approval for the #bitcoin mining industry in Ethiopia.”
The official announcement from Ethiopian Investment Holdings, shared via LinkedIn, details the scope of the partnership with West Data Center Service PLC. He highlighted the project's goal of establishing a state-of-the-art infrastructure for data mining operations and artificial intelligence training in Ethiopia, indicating a broad vision for technology-driven economic growth.
Ethiopian Investment Holdings today signed a memorandum of understanding with West Data Center Service PLC (…). This partnership aims to spearhead an innovative $250 million data mining project dedicated to establishing a state-of-the-art infrastructure for data mining and artificial intelligence training operations in Ethiopia. .
A few days ago Bloomberg bitcoin-mining-why-ethiopia-is-attracting-chinese-crypto-miners” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener nofollow”>reported that Chinese bitcoin miners have found a new refuge in Ethiopia. “Cheap power and friendly relations with China have made the Horn of Africa country one of the best options for Chinese bitcoin miners,” the report states, adding that there are already 21 miners operating in Ethiopia, most of them Chinese. .
Nation-states mining bitcoin
El Salvador led the adoption of bitcoin by nation-states by granting it legal tender status and starting state-backed mining using geothermal energy in 2021. This was followed by the launch of a local bitcoin mining pool in October 2023 and a partnership to build a billion-dollar mining farm in June 2023, illustrating a deepening commitment to cryptocurrency.
After El Salvador, the Kingdom of Bhutan, Russia, the United Arab Emirates, and Oman have also officially ventured into official btc mining. Bhutan is using its surplus hydropower for mining since 2020, with plans to expand. Russia came into the picture through a partnership between Gazprom and BitRiver. The United Arab Emirates expanded Marathon Digital's operations to Abu Dhabi, while Oman backed a $1.1 billion investment in Exahertz for mining expansion.
This positions Ethiopia as the sixth nation to officially announce its commitment to btc mining. However, the transparency of such operations globally remains uncertain, and speculation is rife within the cryptocurrency community that other countries may be secretly conducting bitcoin mining activities.
At the time of publication, btc was trading at $51,908.
Featured image created with DALL·E, chart from TradingView.com
