Ethiopia leads the African continent in Bitcoin mining, with prospects for international growth in the coming years.
Ethiopia has recently increased its involvement in Bitcoin mining by committing 600 MW of energy to support new operations. Thanks to the availability of low-cost hydroelectric power, this increase in energy capacity will allow the country to expand its participation in the mining sector.
The most commonly used machines in Ethiopia for mining are the Avalon A1346 and Antminer S19J Pro models. The efficiency of the two models is estimated to reach a hash rate capacity of 100 TH/s with an energy efficiency of 30 J/TH.
Luxor’s role in mining in Ethiopia
The mining company Luxor has played a central role in developing the sector in Ethiopia. Ethan Vera, co-founder and COO of Luxor, confirmed that the country’s power grid, managed by Ethiopian Electric Power (EEP), is supporting the increase in mining capacity. Additional megawatts of power are expected to be provided by the end of the year. During a recent visit to the country, Vera attended the GAMA Alliance conference in Addis Ababa, where the increase in hash rate capacity and planned additional improvements were highlighted.
Luxor’s commitment includes ongoing support for African miners through machinery imports and development of custom firmware for mining activities. Currently, Ethiopia leads the African continent in terms of distributed hash rate, with a capacity of 600 MW corresponding to approximately 19 EH/s, equivalent to 2.5% of Bitcoin network’s total hash rate.
Impact of foreign investors
International interest in Ethiopia as a Bitcoin mining hub is also supported by foreign investors. Several Chinese operators have indeed started mining projects following the construction of the Ethiopian Grand Dam of Renaissance, which provides renewable energy for mining activities. This has allowed several Chinese companies to enter the country, with some operations already started from early 2023, such as the establishment of a 120 MW mining center by BitCluster.
Hiwot Eshetu, EEP’s marketing director, reported that so far 21 mining companies have signed power supply contracts with the state power operator.
The combination of low-cost energy and the government’s plan to expand the power generation network by an additional 1.7 GW over the next ten years could make Ethiopia a major Bitcoin mining hub in Africa.
