Ethiopia Emerges as 'Bitcoin Gold Mine'... "Half the Electricity Cost of the US"

Ethiopia is emerging as the next gold mine in the Bitcoin (BTC) mining industry.

CoinDesk reported on the 7th (local time) that the cryptocurrency mining company Bit Mining recently acquired a 51MW (megawatt) Bitcoin mining facility located in Ethiopia for $14 million (approximately 20 billion KRW). The facility acquired by Bit Mining includes about 18,000 Bitcoin mining devices.

This is the first time Bit Mining has secured a mining facility outside of Ohio. Yuwei Yang, the chief economist of the cryptocurrency mining company Bit Mining, explained, "The electricity cost in Ohio is at least 70% to nearly twice as expensive as in Ethiopia," adding, "With Ethiopia's cheap electricity, we can extend the lifespan of Bitcoin mining equipment that could have been used for 2-3 years in the US."

Bit Mining plans to maximize profitability by installing the latest mining equipment in the US and older equipment in Ethiopia. Economist Yang stated, "This strategy can extend the lifespan of mining equipment by more than two years," and "it will provide higher returns to investors, enabling more capital inflow."

Ethiopia's hydroelectric resources are also an attractive factor. In particular, the 6,450MW Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) is considered the largest dam in Africa.

However, political instability such as civil war remains. Economist Yang said, "We conducted several visits and studies to confirm the regional stability of Ethiopia," and "decided to purchase existing facilities instead of building new ones to avoid uncertainties."