Bitcoin Mining in 2025: Powering Nations, Reshaping the Grid
Bitcoin mining has evolved far beyond the days of garage rigs and GPU farms. In 2025, Bitcoin mining is a global industry reshaping energy markets, influencing geopolitics, and even driving rural electrification. While mining's environmental footprint continues to face scrutiny, it's also spurring innovation in sustainable infrastructure and playing a more strategic role in national agendas.
So, where does Bitcoin mining stand today, and where is it heading next?
In this article, I'll delve into how Bitcoin mining is evolving across countries, companies, and technologies, and what it means for energy systems, regulation, and global influence.
Countries Leading the Charge in Bitcoin Mining Growth
From Asia to Africa, Bitcoin mining is spreading to regions previously overlooked by the industry. Countries like Bhutan, Kazakhstan, and Zambia are now emerging as serious players, each with unique advantages and ambitions.
Bhutan has taken a bold approach, leveraging its surplus hydropower to quietly expand its mining footprint. With a focus on economic diversification, the country is monetising renewable energy that would otherwise go unused. Its state-owned investment arm has even partnered with private firms to scale operations and develop sustainable mining—turning green energy into digital assets.
Kazakhstan, once a mining powerhouse, has re-entered the spotlight with a more structured regulatory environment. After a wave of crackdowns in 2022, the government has since pivoted to licensing and formalising the industry. Today, Kazakhstan hosts some of the world's largest industrial-scale mining facilities, driven by competitive energy prices and government-backed frameworks.
In Zambia, Bitcoin mining is serving a radically different purpose: community development. A BBC report from March 2025 highlighted a mining operation powered by the Zengamina hydroelectric plant located along the Zambezi River. The mine uses excess energy from the plant—energy that was previously wasted—to generate revenue. This income helps subsidise electricity costs for nearby villages, allowing barbershops, schools, and small businesses to access stable power for the first time.
Elsewhere, there's speculation that China—once the undisputed leader in mining—may be quietly reopening to select operations. While China's 2021 ban on cryptocurrency mining led to a significant reduction in mining activities, some reports suggest that certain operations have continued covertly. If such activities persist or expand, China may potentially re-emerge as a substantial player in the global mining market.
Bitcoin Miners Are Going Public
As Bitcoin mining matures, more companies are going public to secure capital and scale operations. Multiple mining companies have listed on US exchanges, opening the door for institutional investment. Examples of such include:
Bitdeer: Backed by Bitmain's former CEO, Jihan Wu, Bitdeer continues to expand aggressively. In February 2025, the company produced 110 BTC and held over 1,000 BTC in reserve. Its SEALMINER hardware line is pushing boundaries in chip efficiency, and its 500 MW project in Bhutan is on schedule, showcasing the company's global footprint.
Core Scientific: The company has rebounded from its past restructuring and is now one of the largest vertically integrated mining and AI infrastructure providers in North America. With nine data centres and over 19 EH/s in energised hash rate, it's playing a critical role in the US high-performance computing (HPC) market while continuing to mine Bitcoin at scale.
Hut 8: Another publicly traded miner, Hut 8, is transforming into a multi-layered energy and compute firm. Its River Bend campus in Louisiana is expected to host a 300 MW power asset, with significant capacity earmarked for AI and mining colocation services. The company held over 10,000 BTC as of February, one of the largest treasuries in the sector.
In addition to these players, newer entrants in the Bitcoin mining space are also making moves on public markets. GRIID Infrastructure, a Cincinnati-based miner with operations in New York and Tennessee, began trading on the Nasdaq under the ticker GRID in January 2024. However, its time on the exchange was short-lived—CleanSpark announced plans to acquire GRIID in a $155 million all-stock deal in June. The acquisition was completed by October, and GRIID was subsequently delisted.
BitFuFu, a Singapore-based cloud mining firm backed by Bitmain, also joined the Nasdaq in March after finalising a delayed merger with Arisz Acquisition Corp. Originally valued at $1.5 billion during a 2022 peak, the company's debut had been postponed due to prolonged market volatility. By late 2024, BitFuFu ranked 14th among publicly traded Bitcoin miners by market cap.
Environmental Efforts and Energy Innovation
Mining companies are under pressure to prove they can scale sustainably, and many are rising to the challenge. Hydropower, wind, and even curtailed solar energy are being tapped to reduce carbon footprints and improve public perception.
MARA Holdings, for example, acquired a wind farm in North Texas in 2024 and now uses otherwise curtailed renewable power to mine Bitcoin. The company aims to generate 50% of its revenue overseas by 2028, with mining operations in hydro-rich regions like Paraguay.
Gridless, the firm behind the Zambian mini-grid initiative, is rolling out similar community-first mining sites across Africa. By acting as an anchor tenant for microgrid development, Bitcoin miners can turn excess power into revenue while laying the foundation for local electrification.
Innovation is also occurring at the hardware level. Bitdeer recently completed testing on its SEAL03 chip, which delivers record-setting energy efficiency at 9.7 J/TH. Its next-gen SEALMINER A4 is expected to achieve 5 J/TH, underscoring how mining is not just about hashrate, but also sustainability and silicon optimisation.
The above initiatives align with a 2023 report, which found that over 54.5% of BTC mining relies on sustainable energy like solar, wind, hydro, and even geothermal power. Bitcoin mining can also transform environmental liabilities into assets—like using methane from gas flaring to power rigs instead of releasing it into the atmosphere. In South Africa, Bitcoin advocate Stafford Masie noted that mining could stabilise the national grid by acting as a flexible energy buyer, reducing pressure on Eskom and monetising surplus power.
Global Mining Power and Geopolitical Influence
Bitcoin mining is now deeply entangled with geopolitics. As more countries treat hashrate as a strategic asset, mining is becoming a form of digital soft power.
In the United States, the Trump administration has taken a pro-mining stance, with the US President signing an executive order to establish a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve in March. This move signals a shift toward recognising digital assets as tools of economic resilience and geopolitical leverage.
Meanwhile, countries like Ethiopia and Paraguay are attracting miners with cheap hydropower, but also facing challenges in balancing local energy needs. In Ethiopia, where nearly half the population lacks reliable electricity, critics warn that mining could exacerbate inequality if not carefully managed. Still, companies like BitFuFu argue their presence brings jobs, infrastructure, and revenue to underdeveloped regions.
According to VALR CMO Ben Caselin, Bitcoin mining isn't just an economic or environmental matter—it's increasingly a national security issue. He argues that countries without a meaningful share of global hash power risk ceding influence over the Bitcoin network to rivals. "No hash power, no say," as Ben puts it, highlighting the need for democratic nations to support domestic mining as a way to maintain a measure of influence over what is now increasingly critical financial infrastructure.
As hashrate becomes more distributed, influence over Bitcoin's decentralised network shifts accordingly. In 2025, the top-performing miners by EH/s—IREN, Riot Platforms, and CleanSpark—represent a mix of US-based operations and international expansion, reflecting this broader dispersion.
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Bitcoin mining in 2025 is no longer just about generating new coins—it's about building infrastructure, stabilising energy grids, and influencing global power dynamics. From rural Zambia to Wall Street-listed miners, the industry is scaling in both size and complexity.
Whether it's renewable-powered microgrids, ultra-efficient chips, or national strategies built around hashrate, Bitcoin mining is becoming an increasingly important part of the global economy.
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Risk Disclosure
Trading or investing in crypto assets is risky and may result in the loss of capital as the value may fluctuate. VALR (Pty) Ltd is a licensed financial services provider (FSP #53308).
Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article are the personal views of the author and should not form the basis for making investment decisions, nor be construed as a recommendation or advice to engage in investment transactions.
