Bitcoin miners face fresh challenges as Ethiopia's hydropower supply tightens. This comes amid positive speculation of a broader market rebound as Bitcoin traders look to recover losses. The setback joins a string of national power corporations restricting supply to Bitcoin miners.
Ethiopia Stuns Growing Bitcoin Market
The East African country has reduced power supply to Bitcoin miners, citing severe hydroelectric reservoir shortages. The main impact comes from El Niño, which has lowered water inflows by 20%, prompting authorities to clamp down on high-consumption sectors.
Supply to miners is down 23%, with Ethiopian Electric Power (EEP) CEO Ashebir Balcha saying the company will prioritize manufacturing and households. At first, measures were capped at 75% before easing to 50% and now at 23%, but the company will assess monthly conditions to determine supply.
Policy watchers suggest that more cuts are likely due to El Niño and could even cut exports to neighboring countries. Tightening supply to Bitcoin miners will further impact the crypto market, which is already struggling and in need of heavy institutional players.
Last year, Bitcoin miners accounted for nearly one-third of the EEP's revenue, driven by the growing mining ecosystem. Despite such high levels, stakeholders will need to think outside the box to survive incoming restrictions.



 
For many years, the largest crypto's energy consumption has come under scrutiny, as well as the resulting climate effects. This led to arguments for several altcoins, like Ethereum, to switch to a proof-of-stake consensus model.
Saifedean Ammous, the author of The Bitcoin Standard, stressed that global energy consumption for mining has peaked, a situation that could impact the dynamics due to halving every four years.
“Bitcoin electricity consumption may have peaked, and Bitcoin may never consume as much electricity as it did in 2024-2025. The halving means that Bitcoin mining will continue to grow as long as the expected increase in Bitcoin's market value exceeds 100% over four years, or 18.92% per year. Given the dollar's chronic devaluation, the figure is a few percentage points higher when measured in dollars.â€
He added that Bitcoin mining has shifted from long-term growth to long-term decline. For miners, Artificial Intelligence (AI) computing offers a lifeline, helping data centers stay above water without major asset sales.
