Ethiopian Sovereign Wealth Fund to Start Mining Bitcoin Under a ~$250M Preliminary Agreement
The Ethiopian Government is set to mine bitcoin through a partnership with an undisclosed international company. While the final details of the deal are still murky, the partnership appears to aim at establishing critical infrastructure to supercharge Bitcoin mining in the country.
- Ethiopia has signed a preliminary agreement to develop infrastructure for data mining and artificial intelligence training operations, the government's strategic investment arm announced last week.
"Ethiopian Investment Holdings (EIH) initially said in a social media post that a memorandum of understanding for a $250 million project had been signed with a subsidiary of Hong Kong-based West Data Group, but it later removed references to the value of the deal and the identity of the company."
- Another source told Forbes that the deal was led by the Russian bitcoin mining company BitCluster and that the initiative is set to involve the construction of a 120-megawatt, 30,000-square-meter facility in Addis Ababa, which is "strategically located to leverage Ethiopia's vast renewable energy resources, primarily hydroelectric power from the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, Africa's largest hydroelectric project."
"The facility's substantial capacity will support over 34,000 Antminer S21 200Th miners, adding a significant 6.8 EH/s," was stated in the same article.
- According to Ethiopia-based Hashlabs Mining CEO, Kal Kassa, "the deal includes setting up Bitcoin mining operations using Canaan Avalon miners and is part of the country’s broader strategy to leverage its technological and energy resources to attract international investment and foster economic growth."
- According to a another recent report, "following the filling of its Grand Renaissance Dam, (GERD) the state power monopoly has already struck power supply deals with 21 Bitcoin mining companies."
- "Bloomberg recently reported that Ethiopia has become a leading destination for bitcoin mining - which an Ethiopian official referred to in a statement to the news agency as "data mining" and "high-performance computing" - since the government authorized the practice in 2022."
Reuters Article / Archive
LinkedIn Announcement (edited) / Archive
Forbes Article 1 / Archive
Forbes Article 2 / Archive
Bitcoin Magazine Article / Archive
BitKE Article / Archive
