Gridless Mines Bitcoin in the Zambian Bush

Gridless, a founding member of The Green Africa Mining Alliance (GAMA), pitches its mining company in the north-western part of Zambia near the border with the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

In a BBC report, the company explains how it harnesses stranded renewable energy to mine Bitcoin using a cheaper power supply and subsequently making money. The company produces an average of $5 a day and more if the price of coins is high.

📢 Bitcoin mining expands in Africa! Gridless launches a mining operation in Zambia, powered by Zengamina hydro-power.

This mini-grid supplies stable electricity to local communities while using excess energy for mining, showcasing the potential of Bitcoin to drive sustainable… pic.twitter.com/0QS0pvGxph

— Coinwaft (@coinwaft) March 25, 2025

The Kenyan-based company, which has facilities in four countries, including Zambia and Malawi, uses three types of power: hydro, geothermal, and biomass.

For instance, in Zambia, BBC reported that the company plugs its mine directly into the Zengamina hydro-power plant, which generates clean electricity from the river through a massive turbine.

Bitcoin uses a Proof of Work consensus that consumes a lot of energy, around 127 terawatt-hours (TWh) of electricity annually, and consequently undermines communities’ power usage.

However, Gridless contributes 30% of the plant’s revenue and allows for the full usage of energy, which contributes to the continuous power supply to the Zambian community.

“Every day, we were wasting over half of the energy we could generate, which also meant we were not earning from that to meet our operating expenses. We needed a major user of power in the area, and that’s where the game-changing partnership with Gridless came in,” Daniel Rea, the power plant custodian, said.

Philip Walton, a Co-founder and CFO at Gridless, said the company chose the area to get cheaper power for economical mining and also generate revenue share for the power company.

Bitcoin Miners See Opportunities in Africa

An article published by Forbes in 2024 claims that Africa alone contributes 3% of the global Bitcoin mining hash rate, with Ethiopia accounting for 2.5%.

The report added that $1 billion was spent on Bitcoin mining in 2024, which is expected to increase in 2025.

Other African countries have also shown interest in joining the ranks of Bitcoin miners, with Kenya and Nigeria having Gridless and Trojan Mining spearheading the industry.

Notably, mining has contributed huge revenue to the African energy industries. The money Ethiopia accumulated in 2024 from Bitcoin mining represents 18% of its total revenue.

However, Bitcoin mining has generated concerns over the environmental damages it could cause, but some experts still opine that it may be a sustainable sector.

Angola Bans Crypto Mining

Despite positive reports from other African countries allowing Bitcoin mining, Angola has enacted a law prohibiting and criminalizing Bitcoin mining.

The law proposes one to five years imprisonment for anyone caught with a computer or any material for mining purposes.

Recently, the country arrested nine individuals, four Chinese and five Angolans, suspected of mining crypto.

Morocco is one of the countries that have also banned both crypto mining and transactions.

However, some countries are reversing their cryptocurrency ban and instead forming regulations to control the excess of crypto users.