中国比特币矿业公司进军埃塞俄比亚，瞄准该国超低电力成本

埃塞俄比亚地处非洲之角六个不同邻国之间的内陆地区，拥有约 1.2 亿居民，是非洲大陆第二人口大国

Chinese bitcoin (BTC) mining company BIT Mining (BTCM) has announced a $14 million deal to acquire bitcoin mining facilities in Ethiopia, as part of its strategy to extend the lifespan of its aging mining rigs and capitalize on the country's low electricity costs.

中国比特币 (BTC) 挖矿公司 BIT Mining (BTCM) 宣布斥资 1400 万美元收购埃塞俄比亚的比特币挖矿设施，作为其延长老化矿机使用寿命并利用该国较低电力成本的战略的一部分。

According to Dr. Youwei Yang, chief economist at BIT Mining, the high electricity prices in Ohio, where BIT Mining currently operates its bitcoin mining facilities, have limited the company to deploying only the newest ASICs, such as the first or second generation. However, in Ethiopia, the company can deploy older generation machines due to the lower electricity costs.

BIT Mining 首席经济学家杨有伟博士表示，BIT Mining 目前运营其比特币挖矿设施的俄亥俄州电价较高，限制了该公司只能部署最新的 ASIC，例如第一代或第二代。然而，在埃塞俄比亚，由于电力成本较低，该公司可以部署老一代机器。

“The price of electricity is maybe 70% higher in Ohio than in Ethiopia, sometimes almost double, so it can only run very advanced ASICs, like the newest or second newest generations,” said Yang in an interview with CoinDesk. “Now we can just move older generation machines into Ethiopia.”

“俄亥俄州的电价可能比埃塞俄比亚高 70%，有时几乎是两倍，因此它只能运行非常先进的 ASIC，比如最新一代或第二代最新一代，”Yang 在接受 CoinDesk 采访时表示。 “现在我们可以将老一代机器搬到埃塞俄比亚。”

This move is significant because BIT Mining primarily operates a hosting business, where it houses mining facilities for various clients, in addition to mining litecoin (LTC) and dogecoin (DOGE) itself. State-of-the-art mining rigs are expensive, with a single machine costing between $5,000 and $10,000 for retail buyers. Investors are typically hesitant to send such valuable equipment to war-torn regions.

此举意义重大，因为 BIT Mining 主要经营托管业务，除了开采莱特币 (LTC) 和狗狗币 (DOGE) 之外，还为各种客户提供采矿设施。最先进的采矿设备价格昂贵，对于零售买家来说，一台机器的价格在 5,000 美元到 10,000 美元之间。投资者通常不愿意将如此宝贵的设备运送到饱受战争蹂躏的地区。

Hence, the strategy is to install the newer rigs in the U.S. and send the aging ones to Ethiopia. This creates a positive feedback loop, where investors can extract greater returns from their machines compared to if BIT Mining were limited to operating in the U.S., which, in turn, attracts more capital, said Yang.

因此，战略是在美国安装较新的钻井平台，并将老化的钻井平台发送到埃塞俄比亚。杨说，这创造了一个积极的反馈循环，与 BIT Mining 仅限于在美国运营相比，投资者可以从他们的机器中获得更大的回报，从而吸引更多的资本。

“We can get at least two extra years by moving the rigs to Ethiopia, and then maybe after that, they're completely done,” said Yang.

“通过将钻机移至埃塞俄比亚，我们至少可以获得额外两年的时间，也许在那之后，它们就完全完成了，”杨说。

Ethiopia, a hotspot for bitcoin mining

埃塞俄比亚，比特币挖矿热点

But what makes Ethiopia an ideal destination for BIT Mining's bitcoin mining expansion?

但是什么让埃塞俄比亚成为 BIT Mining 比特币挖矿扩张的理想目的地呢？

For one, the country's electric standard is similar to China's, which enables BIT Mining to leverage its engineering team's expertise and redeploy some of the electric equipment it used in the Middle Kingdom before the bitcoin mining ban.

其一，该国的电力标准与中国相似，这使得 BIT Mining 能够利用其工程团队的专业知识，重新部署比特币挖矿禁令之前在中国使用的一些电力设备。

Moreover, Ethiopia boasts an abundance of hydroelectric power, thanks in part to Chinese investments, which have totaled $8.5 billion across more than 3,000 projects in recent years. For instance, China helped fund the construction of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), which, upon completion, will become the largest dam in Africa, generating over 5,000 MW.

此外，埃塞俄比亚拥有丰富的水力发电，这在一定程度上要归功于中国的投资，近年来中国对3000多个项目的投资总额达85亿美元。例如，中国资助建设了埃塞俄比亚复兴大坝（GERD），该大坝建成后将成为非洲最大的水坝，发电量超过5000兆瓦。

However, not all of Ethiopia's electric output is utilized yet, presenting an opportunity for bitcoin miners, especially given the Ethiopian government's support for the mining industry. In fact, the country contributes 1.5% to Bitcoin's total hashrate, according to Hashrate Index, which is roughly equivalent to Norway's contribution to the network.

然而，埃塞俄比亚的电力输出尚未全部得到利用，这为比特币矿工提供了机会，特别是考虑到埃塞俄比亚政府对采矿业的支持。事实上，根据算力指数，该国对比特币总算力的贡献为 1.5%，大致相当于挪威对该网络的贡献。

This is despite the Ethiopian federal government's tenuous control over the country's territory. Hundreds of thousands of Ethiopians were killed in the government's war against the Tigray People's Liberation Front from 2020 to 2022, and the state only signed a peace treaty in December with the Oromo Liberation Army, which it had been fighting in some capacity since the 1970s.

尽管埃塞俄比亚联邦政府对该国领土的控制微弱，但情况仍然如此。 2020年至2022年间，数十万埃塞俄比亚人在政府针对提格雷人民解放阵线的战争中丧生，该国直到12月才与奥罗莫解放军签署了和平条约，该国自1970年代以来一直以某种身份参与战斗。

When asked if BIT Mining had any concerns regarding the country's social unrest, Yang stated that the firm had been “studying, researching and also visiting [Ethiopia] several times, just [ascertaining] that it's a stable place.” To avoid any unforeseen issues, the decision was made to purchase a facility rather than constructing one from scratch, he added.

当被问及 BIT Mining 是否对该国的社会动荡有任何担忧时，杨表示，该公司一直在“学习、研究并多次访问[埃塞俄比亚]，只是[确定]这是一个稳定的地方。”他补充说，为了避免出现任何不可预见的问题，我们决定购买一套设施，而不是从头开始建造。

Even so, convincing BIT Mining employees to relocate to Ethiopia from their previous homes in the U.S. or China was a challenge, according to Yang.

杨表示，即便如此，说服 BIT Mining 员工从之前在美国或中国的家搬到埃塞俄比亚仍然是一个挑战。

“People obviously like to live and work in richer and safer countries,” he said. While a third of the facility's operating team are foreign at present, the goal is for the team to eventually comprise mostly locals, he added.

“人们显然喜欢在更富裕、更安全的国家生活和工作，”他说。他补充说，虽然目前该设施的运营团队有三分之一是外国人，但目标是最终该团队将主要由当地人组成。

Meanwhile, the company is seeking new investment opportunities in the country, whether in energy infrastructure projects, data centers for AI purposes or additional bitcoin mining facilities.

与此同时，该公司正在该国寻求新的投资机会，无论是能源基础设施项目、人工智能数据中心还是额外的比特币采矿设施。

“There's plenty of opportunities in Ethiopia,” said Yang. “The AI thing… We've been studying it for the last six to nine months. We have the power. We have the people. We have the ability to do it. But [the whole process] is very capital heavy. Construction in the U.S. is a lot more expensive, so it's very hard to do a pilot experiment, but it's a lot easier to [try one] in Ethiopia.”

“埃塞俄比亚有很多机会，”杨说。 “人工智能的事情……过去六到九个月我们一直在研究它。我们有权力。我们有人。我们有能力做到这一点。但[整个过程]资本非常重。美国的建设成本要高得多，因此很难进行试点实验，但在埃塞俄比亚[尝试]要容易得多。”