Bitcoin Mining Will Explode in Africa – Bitcoin Magazine

by James · July 29, 2022

Mining headlines are usually filled with mentions of North America and Asia, with occasional mentions of Latin America. But another region of the world is showing some unnoticed signs of consistent interest in the mining sector.

This article explores some data showing interest from African nations in mining and profiles a few companies known to be mining in the region, all contextualized by Africa’s widely reported general interest in Bitcoin as a plausible precursor to a booming mining industry.

Table of Contents

African Bitcoin Mining Data

Google Trends is some of the most frequently cited data sets in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrency circles to demonstrate interest, sentiment shifts and various market conditions. The reliability and accuracy of this data is never perfect, but it often reflects reality.

So who is searching for bitcoin mining the most?

The answer is several African countries, according to Google Trends at the time of writing. This data was also noticed by the mining research team at Compass Mining almost a year ago and it still holds true today.

Here are the top 10 countries ranked by regional bitcoin mining search interest from the past year:

Nigeria
Zimbabwe
Cameroon
Ethiopia
Mauritius
Ghana
Albania
South Africa
Myanmar
Kenya

But does this data matter? Search data from the US, for example, adds a bit more color to Google Trends data that may reflect some realities of the real mining industry. After narrowing down to searches made in the United States, Google Trends shows Wyoming as the top-ranked location for bitcoin mining searches. And indeed, this state is one of the largest and fastest growing hubs of mining in the US, suggesting that Google Trends data reflects legitimate industry action.

African Bitcoin Mining Status Quo

Despite interest in the subject, most signs point to African countries collectively representing a small percentage of Bitcoin’s total hash rate. Data collected by the Cambridge Center for Alternative Finance, for example, claims that no African country contributes more than 0.14% of Bitcoin’s hash rate. This amount apparently comes from Egypt, the region’s biggest hashrate contributor. This data set is notoriously problematic, but in general mining activity in the entire region is relatively small.

Mining in Africa is still happening, and it is growing. BigBlock DC is a good example of a mining company operating in the region. It has shared pictures and videos of construction buildings to Twitter. In addition, it is reports of off-grid solar mining in Zimbabwe. And a Ghanaian IT company has made claims to power the region’s first mining operations back in 2016.

Africa’s Potential for Bitcoin Mining

Few things excite Bitcoin miners more than cheap, abundant energy. Considering Africa’s potential future as a regional mining hub, its rich energy resources are key. Here is an overview.

African countries have some of the greatest untapped potential for large-scale hydropower development in the world. It is already the region’s main source of “clean” energy, and planned developments mean it shows no signs of slowing down.

Africa also has more potential solar resources than any other continent, although solar development is not widespread or significant. One study found that a solar park covering 0.3% of North Africa could supply all the energy required to power the EU.

Flare gas is also a strong candidate as a power source for African mining. Angola, for example, has already sought ways to monetize its gas flaring activity, and is the region’s second largest crude oil producer.

Nuclear energy is one of the scarcest forms of power in Africa. Of 54 countries in the region, only South Africa has operational nuclear facilities. South Africa currently generates over 10 billion kilowatt hours (KWh) of base load electricity at the Koeberg nuclear power plant in Cape Town. Bitcoin miners and the nuclear power industry are quickly forming strong relationships, and hopefully this trend extends to Africa to catalyze more nuclear development.

Beyond Bitcoin Mining

Mining sector aside, Africa’s leading role in growing global Bitcoin usage is no secret. In particular, a steady stream of headlines in recent years has highlighted the region’s surge in interest in Bitcoin from investors, developers, merchants and other users. For example:

Paxful CEO Ray Youssef says Africa is “leading” cryptocurrency adoption
Square CEO Jack Dorsey Says Africa “will define the future” of Bitcoin
Programs like Qala recruit and train Bitcoin developers
Even the UN has taken notice of Bitcoin and crypto use in Africa
The Central African Republic was the second country to adopt bitcoin as legal tender
Kenya has one of the highest per capita levels of bitcoin ownership, according to a UN brief

Widespread interest in buying and using bitcoin usually also precedes strong interest in bitcoin mining. China, the United States and parts of Latin America, for example, have historically been geographic leaders in bitcoin investment and usage, and it is no coincidence that these regions are also leaders in retail and industrial-scale mining. While that doesn’t necessarily explain all the apparent interest in mining from various African countries, people who want bitcoin tend to also eventually learn how to mine it.

Mining: The Natural Step in Africa’s Bitcoin Journey

At the risk of repeating the obvious, much of this article is speculative analysis based on a few statistical and anecdotal signals of mining growth across Africa. It’s hard to know for sure if or when parts of that region will become the next Texas or Kazakhstan for the mining sector.