Once upon a time, when Bitcoin mining was mentioned, the world's gaze would invariably turn to China. However, with China's complete withdrawal from the mining industry in 2021, the end of one era also heralded the beginning of a new one. Today, the global Bitcoin mining map is undergoing a profound, complex, and geopolitically colored reshaping.
This is no longer a solo act dominated by a single country, but a global 'computing power war' involving energy powers, sovereign nations, and even cryptocurrency giants. In this new competition, the U.S. and Russia are engaged in a new 'bipolar struggle,' while the Himalayan nation of Bhutan has emerged with an astonishing 'national mining' model, and stablecoin giant Tether is making a billion-dollar bet for the position of the world's largest mining company.
Great Power Game
Recently, the dramatic upheaval in the global Bitcoin computing power map has laid bare the struggles between major powers for all to see.
On the same day that the U.S. launched a military strike on Iran's nuclear facilities, global Bitcoin computing power experienced the most severe cliff-like drop in three years, falling by over 15%. This astonishing coincidence has fueled speculation within the crypto community about whether the U.S. is bombing secret Bitcoin mining sites in Iran. Bitcoin OG Max Keiser even remarked: 'We may have entered an era where countries bomb each other's Bitcoin mining facilities, which is exactly what I predicted in the global computing power war in 2017.'
Iran's Bitcoin mining was originally an 'innovative move' to seek economic breakthrough under severe U.S. sanctions. The country utilizes its abundant and cheap energy, viewing mining as a tool to bypass the traditional banking system and earn valuable foreign exchange. It is estimated that Iran once accounted for about 4% of global Bitcoin computing power. However, the recent war has forced a halt to Bitcoin mining, triggering a global hash rate war.
Across the ocean, the United States, with its mature capital markets and relatively clear regulatory expectations, firmly holds the top position in global Bitcoin mining. However, this new hegemon is not resting easy. Internally, it faces a profound supply chain challenge—reliance on Chinese-manufactured mining machines.
Chinese mining machine manufacturers, represented by Bitmain and MicroBT, have long dominated the global market. The U.S. tariff policy on Chinese goods has directly increased the hardware costs for American miners, weakening their competitiveness. To address this situation, manufacturers like Bitmain are accelerating plans to build factories in the U.S., attempting to bypass tariff barriers through localized production. This indicates that future global mining competition will not only depend on energy costs but also on the restructuring of the hardware supply chain.
As the U.S. and Iran engage in direct or indirect computing power confrontation, Russia is being viewed as a potential winner in this computing power war. Analysts predict that, with its rich energy resources and relatively stable policy environment, Russia is likely to surpass the U.S. in the near future to become the world's first or second-largest Bitcoin mining power.
Small Nation Strategy
While major powers fiercely clash in the battlefield of computing power, some small countries have taken a different approach, turning Bitcoin mining into a unique tool for national development.
Hidden in the Himalayas, the kingdom of Bhutan is staging an astonishing 'happy mining' phenomenon. Utilizing its abundant and surplus zero-carbon hydropower resources, this nation of only 800,000 people has quietly mined and stored Bitcoin worth about $1.3 billion over the past five years, an amount equivalent to 40% of its GDP, propelling it to become the third-largest government holder of Bitcoin globally. Bitcoin mining is becoming a 'national new treasury' for Bhutan, representing an unprecedented development model that deeply binds the nation's fate to the Bitcoin network.
This national-level plan, personally ordered by the King of Bhutan, began in 2020. The national think tank DHI realized that utilizing excess cheap hydropower for mining is an excellent way to convert natural resources into national wealth. This massive digital asset is effectively feeding back into the real economy: the Bhutanese government is using mining surplus to raise salaries for all public servants by 50% and is implementing a cryptocurrency payment system in the capital, attempting to create a complete economic cycle from 'miner to wallet, then to city.' Bhutan's success provides a bold and wise example for small economies worldwide.
Inspired by the successes of countries like Bhutan, Pakistan, facing serious fiscal pressures, also plans to redirect its idle 2,000 megawatts (2GW) of power generation capacity towards Bitcoin mining and AI data centers. The government hopes to save $745 million annually in power plant capacity fees and create nearly $1.8 billion in foreign exchange income. However, the challenges that Pakistan faces are far greater than those of Bhutan: its high industrial electricity prices, reliance on electricity subsidies, and pressure from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) all make this path to catch up fraught with uncertainty.
The Ambitions of Corporate Giants
In this competition led by nations, a native giant from the crypto world is entering the scene as a disruptor. Tether, the world's largest stablecoin issuer, is no longer satisfied with its dominant position in the stablecoin market. Its CEO, Paolo Ardoino, recently stated that Tether's goal is to become 'the world's number one Bitcoin mining company' by the end of 2025.
This is not just empty rhetoric. Since 2023, Tether has invested over $2 billion to build green energy-based mining farms at 15 locations worldwide (such as Uruguay, Paraguay, and El Salvador). Ardoino admits that Tether's motivation is not only financial investment but also strategic consideration: as a whale holding over 100,000 Bitcoins, participating in mining and becoming a part of the 'Bitcoin Network Security Team' is the best way to safeguard its vast reserve assets.
Tether's entry marks a new dimension in the computing power war: a private enterprise with wealth comparable to that of nations is participating in the competition for Bitcoin's underlying infrastructure.
The Power Game of the New Era
From geopolitical struggles among major powers to the economic development strategies of small nations, and to the strategic layouts of corporate giants, the global landscape of Bitcoin mining is undergoing a profound and intense reshaping. Computing power, originally a purely technical metric, is now closely linked to national energy security, financial sovereignty, economic competitiveness, and even military strategy.
In summary, the old era of Bitcoin mining has come to an end, and a new world order is taking shape. The global competition surrounding Bitcoin computing power has been set in motion, and its ultimate direction will undoubtedly have a profound impact on the global power landscape of the 21st century.
