Jack Dorsey’s Block Inc. is among the companies contributing to a funding round for a Bitcoin miner in Africa powered by renewable energy.
Digital payments firm Block and venture capital investor Stillmark led an initial $2 million investment in Gridless, a miner that harnesses small-scale renewable energy grids in rural Africa, Block said in a statement from the 6th of December.
Bitcoin mining is a power-intensive process in which electricity-hungry computers secure the digital asset’s blockchain by validating transaction data and unlocking tokens as rewards in return. Some studies estimate that annual energy consumption exceeds the amount used by entire countries such as Belgium.
The investment is the latest effort by Block to boost sustainable and decentralized mining operations. It has hired veteran crypto mining engineers and managers to build its mining unit and develop projects that can encourage people to mine Bitcoin. Most of the computing power for Bitcoin mining currently comes from industrial-scale centers.
Gridless seeks to harness excess power at small-scale renewable energy sites in rural Africa, according to the statement. It has contracted five pilot projects in rural Kenya with HydroBox, an African hydropower company, three of which are currently operational. Gridless plans to expand to other parts of East Africa in the near future, he said.
The profitability of mining is highly dependent on energy costs. The industry has been hit by persistently high electricity prices, a 66% drop in Bitcoin over the past year, and stiff competition.
© 2022 Bloomberg
