Bitcoin mining in Ethiopia has now boosted the State Owned Electricity utility's revenue by $55 Million (18% of its annual revenue) Ethiopian Tribune reports that Bitcoin mining achieves this by "monetising surplus energy" (energy that would otherwise have been wasted) and that "this revenue has been strategically reinvested into infrastructure development ... where Bitcoin mining profits fund the expansion of transmission lines and distribution networks." These transmission lines help to bring much needed electricity to rural Ethiopians who often experience energy poverty. The Tribune reports that rural electricity access "remained at just 43% in 2021". Bitcoin mining provides a path to raise that percentage through accelerating the buildout of new transmission lines. image
You can do a lot of bitcoin mining with 50GW of wasted power. “India's stranded renewable power capacity - projects awarded but unable to come online - more than doubled over nine months, due to unfinished transmission lines, and legal and regulatory delays, letters from an industry group to the government showed. Renewable projects that won tenders to generate power but are yet to sign power purchase agreements with buyers have surged to over 50 gigawatts (GW)” Source: Reuters https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/indias-stranded-renewable-projects-double-over-50-gw-industry-documents-show-2025-08-01/
Nostr first project update: our latest readings from a landfill that we're looking to finance a bitcoin mining project just came through. You can see from the satellite report, it is estimated to be emitting 1.535 tonnes of methane every hour. The landfill owner approached us because there is no other potential user for that power and it is not an option to sell the power to the grid, meaning that onsite bitcoin mining is his only economically feasible option. It will also pay him money for the power generated. Because methane is 84x more warming over a 20-year period than CO2, at 90% uptime that means we can mitigate ~1.02 Million tonnes of CO2e every year. Another 30 similarly sized projects, and Bitcoin mining becomes an emission-negative network. * and ... because the project generates not only PE-style returns through equipment financing, but carbon credits it also has an asymetrically good risk:reward for wholesale investors. Onwards! image
In its blog today, IMF just penned some 2021vintage energy FUD about Bitcoin "Bitcoin uses as much energy as <insert your favorite country>" Mainstream media and the scientific community no longer use this claim. Why? Because it is a known misleading statistic. Much of Bitcoin's energy usage is from stranded, wasted sources that others cannot utilize. It has also been shown in 22 peer reviewed papers and 7 independent studies to stabilize and decarbonize grids, mitigate methane and lower electricity prices and is 52.4% sustainably powered (unlike the much lower sustainable power mix of the banking industry, and gold mining - which Bitcoin provides viable and technologically superior alternatives to) source: Contrary to the implications of this tweet, Bitcoin has 19 well documented usecases that create value to society. source: Important context: Bitcoin threatens IMF with disintermediation in 5 ways which I have categorized previously here --> and IMF has a reputation for openly opposing Bitcoin, repeatedly citing "concerns" that have consistently failed to materialize. (source: ) Its perspective on Bitcoin is neither neutral nor objective. image
Bitcoin heat recycling is now recognized both in the energy sector and independent reports as a way to efficiently deliver electrical heat in a low carbon manner "Bitcoin mining can be a practical way of cutting carbon and costs while keeping communities warm" Source: District Energy, Q3 Report 2025 Context: Two months after Cambridge released a study showing the decarbonizing potential of Bitcoin mining, District Energy released is 3rd Quarter Report, and the entire issue is dedicated to using Datacenters, including Bitcoin mining, as a heat source. Key quotes: "Electrifying heat production, especially in regions with low-carbon or renewable electricity, offers one of the most direct and effective ways to reduce emissions from district heating. Using the heat generated from bitcoin mining could significantly advance this electrification, transforming digital energy infrastructure into a source of high-temperature, low-carbon heat." The report specifically mentions the work of @MARA , who are now using Bitcoin mining to supply heat to 80,000 residents in Finland (1.6% of the total population) "MARA estimate that each MW of recycled heat from bitcoin mining results in 455 fewer metric tons of CO2 emissions per year than the average district heating facility in Finland." This is just one of the ways that Bitcoin mining has been found to reduce carbon emissions and cut energy costs at the same time. For a full report on other ways that Bitcoin achieves these two aims, you can read my full length report. (Link in the comments) source: https://districtenergy-digital.org/districtenergy/library/page/q3_2025/32/ image