Ethiopia Slashes Power to Bitcoin Miners Amid Hydropower Crisis

The state-owned utility initially attempted to manage the shortfall by tapering deliveries to 75% of contracted amounts, before further downgrades to 50% and eventually the current 23% threshold. CEO Ashebir Balcha confirmed the company will reassess the situation in October, with the possibility of further restrictions or limitations on electricity exports to neighboring countries if water levels fail to stabilize.

Bitcoin miners, who flocked to Ethiopia for its low-cost renewable energy, have become a significant pillar of the national power grid. In the previous fiscal year, these operations consumed nearly one-third of the country's total electricity output and accounted for 35% of the utility's revenue. With mining economics already under pressure from falling rewards and a 35% decline in Bitcoin prices over the past year, the supply cuts arrive at a precarious time for the industry. Economist Saifedean Ammous suggests that global capital expenditure on mining infrastructure may have peaked, as operators increasingly pivot their power agreements and data centers toward more lucrative artificial intelligence and high-performance computing contracts.