Bitcoin Miner’s Ethiopian Expansion: How Many Hamsters Does It Take to Power the Blockchain?

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Phoenix Group, a bitcoin mining firm so ambitious it’d build a data center on the moon if someone handed it a 220V adapter and a crate of Red Bull, just announced they’ve added 52 megawatts (MW) to their Ethiopian mining capacity. That’s right—Ethiopia. Because when you think of the relentless pursuit of crypto riches, you obviously picture an idyllic hydropower plant beside an impassive river in East Africa. 🌍⛏️

On April 29, Phoenix gleefully reported their new South-of-the-Sahara power-up, huffing their local total to 132 MW. Globally, they now lay claim to a dizzying 500+ MW. That’s a lot of electricity devoted to, well, math problems that turn into pixel money.

Munaf Ali, CEO and co-founder, waxed poetic about “securing prime locations with abundant, low-cost energy.” In other words: “We go where the lights stay on, and the bills stay low.” Genius.

Ali continued, “Initiatives like our expansion in Ethiopia are pivotal.” Translation: if Bitcoin’s price tanks, at least we vacation near the Nile.

Look, Ma, More Deals

This latest megawatt flex follows Phoenix Group’s earlier deal for 80 MW of power in Ethiopia back in January. That site is supposed to launch in Q2 of 2025—barring a swarm of locusts or Elon Musk changing his mind about Earth’s viability.

The 52 MW is a two-course meal: first 20 MW goes to 5,300 air-cooled mining units (presumably with tiny fans and passive-aggressive notes). Hashrate: 1.2 exahashes per second—enough computational power to guess, in under a second, what you forgot on your grocery list.

Phase two (due by end of Q2 2025) cranks up to the full 52 MW, adds water cooling (Bitcoin gets a spa day!), and bumps hashrate to 2.4 exahashes per second. For the uninitiated, one exahash is, scientifically speaking, an absolutely bonkers number of calculations. Basically: a trillion trillion computational face-palms per tick. 🤯

Reza Nedjatian, CEO of Phoenix’s all-things-tech subsidiary, cheered the renewable hydropower angle, declaring it a “new benchmark for sustainable mining in Africa.” Because when you’re burning through zillion-watt hours, it feels so much nicer to do it with clean water as opposed to, say, a coal-fired sneeze at the atmosphere.

“With 132 MW now running on clean hydropower, we’re proud to set a new benchmark for sustainable mining in Africa and deliver large-scale operations in energy-rich regions.”

IPO Mania and the Ancient Art of Cashing In

Phoenix Group hit the big time as a publicly-traded company after listing on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange in late 2023. Their IPO was so oversubscribed (33 times!) that the CFO is still fanning herself with term sheets.

After the IPO, Phoenix Group shares shot up by 50%. Today, they’re floating around $7.94, which means if you invested early, congratulations—you can now afford a Starbucks drink with an extra shot.

Bigger news: the company dropped $187 million on Bitcoin mining gear in a single bulk-buy. It’s the crypto version of those people you see wheeling ten carts full of toilet paper out of Costco—except instead of hoarding, they’re solving for x.

Phoenix isn’t just mining Bitcoin, mind you. In 2024, they joined Tether and Green Acorn Investments to create a stablecoin pegged to the UAE dirham, because who doesn’t love a currency that never leaves home?

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2025-04-29 15:05