The Republic of Georgia is a small state sandwiched between Asia and Europe. It has the distinction of being the most unlikely candidate for having the highest number of Bitcoin miners in the world. It is able to support such large-scale mining operations because it has a lot of hydroelectricity. According to the World Bank’s index, Georgia ranks seventh in the world for ease of doing business, even ahead of countries like Germany and the UK.
Located near the Black Sea, Georgia’s Bitfury mining operation along with solo miners is making Bitcoin hay, thanks an abundant supply of electricity. According to research companies, Georgia’s mining hash rate is 0.71% and 0.18% according to another. Most individual miners do it from home because of power subsidies, according to Cointelegraph report.
According to available data, Georgia has ca. 125 MW capacity for crypto mining of which 62 MW is allocated to industries. The balance is available to the rest of the country which makes it easy for solo miners to pursue their interests. According to Jared Mellerud of Cointelegraph, Georgia’s mining rates are 0.71% because 100 MW is dedicated exclusively to BTC mining. Georgia has the hardware capacity to meet network averages and work efficiently.
Given this scenario, neighboring Kazakhstan which managed to up its mining to 18% of global hash rates, regulators are now considering new rules. The idea is to hike power prices and tax mining operations as they realize the amount of money there is in the crypto mining business. One downside to Georgia’s ability to lead the world in crypto mining is the rising cost of power. Small crypto mining enthusiasts are using waste heat generated by BTC mining to heat their homes.
