Bitcoin mining firm Phoenix Group announced the addition of 52 megawatts (MW) worth of mining capacity to its capabilities in Ethiopia. According to an April 29 announcement, with this latest addition, Phoenix’s Bitcoin mining capacity in Ethiopia reaches 132 MW. The firm’s global capacity now reportedly exceeds 500 MW. Phoenix’s co-founder and CEO, Munaf Ali, said the firm’s strategy relies on “securing prime locations with abundant, low-cost energy.” “Initiatives like our latest expansion in Ethiopia are pivotal steps, not only creating significant value today but also solidifying our position,” he said. Related: Arkansas city rejects crypto mining proposal after community pushback Building on previous agreements The news follows Phoenix Group signing an agreement that secures the right to 80 MW of power in Ethiopia in January. An announcement published at the time noted that the new Bitcoin mining site was scheduled to go live in the second quarter of 2025. The 52 MW site will be developed in two phases, with the first one using just 20 MW to power 5,300 air-cooled mining units with an expected hashrate of 1.2 exahashes per second. In the second phase — expected to reach completion by the end of Q2 2025 — the site will use the full 52 MW, water cooling, and produce an estimated 2.4 exahashes per second of hashrate. An exahash is a unit of computational power used mainly to measure the speed of cryptocurrency mining networks, especially Bitcoin. Exahashes quantify how many trillions of calculations a mining network can perform per second. Reza Nedjatian, the CEO of the firm’s mining, artificial intelligence and data center subsidiary, highlighted that the plant will be powered by renewable energy: “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.” Related: LAPD recovers $2.7M worth of Bitcoin miners stolen in airport heist A fast-burn company Phoenix Group became a publicly-traded company following its late 2023 listing on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange . The firm successfully closed its initial public offering (IPO) with an oversubscription of 33 times, reporting that its offer of 907,323,529 shares saw “overwhelming demand.” Following the listing, Phoenix Group shares rapidly rose by 50% following the $371 million IPO, opening at 2.25 dirhams ($0.6) and rapidly reaching 1.50 dirhams ($0.41). At the time of writing, shares are trading at around $7.94. Phoenix Group share price chart. Source: Google Finance The firm is known for its large-scale mining initiatives, having acquired $187 million worth of Bitcoin mining equipment in a single transaction in early 2024. Bitcoin mining is not the only activity the firm is involved in. In 2024, Tether, the largest stablecoin provider in the digital asset industry, announced plans to launch a new stablecoin pegged to the United Arab Emirates dirham. Tether partnered with Phoenix Group and Green Acorn Investments on the project. Magazine: AI may already use more power than Bitcoin — and it threatens Bitcoin mining
