Home Bitcoin Mining, the Real Solar Boom, and National Security
Green energy producers all over the planet are discovering that bitcoin mining is the key to monetizing stranded energy. In Kenya, Malawi, and Zambia, hydro-powered mini-grids are lighting up rural villages that would never have been be able to afford such infrastructure . Formerly vented gas from abandoned oil derricks in North Dakota1 is being burned to power miners2. With tourism down due to recent conflicts, Virunga National Park in the Congo has directed much of the thirteen megawatts of it’s massive hydro dam to mining3. Massive solar farms in Texas are more viable due to bitcoin miners that have helped stabilize the grid by alternating between eating excess power and curtailing in times of need4. There are also controversial rumblings of geothermal powered bitcoin mining in Latin America5. All of these projects are stereotypically large bitcoin mines, controlled by a handful of people and contained in small, easy to seize or destroy targets. Meanwhile, despite the United States government moving heaven and earth to incentivize domestic solar systems6, the average return on investment spans a decade7. Without the added welfare benefits, a natural return would prove even longer. Any nation-state which allows it’s citizens to mine bitcoin at home with little to no regulatory burden will naturally see an increase in domestic solar adoption and a robust security network protecting that nation’s ability to transact without censure.
History teaches us that centralization is more than an institutional concern. It is first and foremost a physical concern. The mighty Persian army, caught in the pass at Thermopylae, and slaughtered by the the much smaller Spartan forces, wasn’t the first, and certainly was far from the last8, to learn this painful lesson. But centralized Bitcoin network infrastructure doesn’t only have to worry about bombings or capture. After flirting with various bitcoin bans for years, China already learned this lesson the hard way when they finally banned mining in 20219. Even if they now lift their mining ban, the physical infrastructure of major mining operations is largely gone. While one might note that the hash rate which migrated is still being pointed towards Chinese pools10, it is now ultimately the jurisdiction of foreign actors to decide what pools these miners can use legally, which is ultimately not in the best interest of the CCP. A ban like this, with irreversible consequences, in which large mining farms are legally pushed off shore is even more likely in a truly democratic country where the changes of the party in power can swing drastically and often involve shorter term thinking.
In addition to this, the threat of literal bombing or capture also remains. Most large bitcoin mining operations are easy to find, with pictures online, listed addresses, and countless other public records. Even if this were not the case, they would suffer the vulnerability of all large infrastructure; simply being conspicuous and difficult to hide. Not so with home mining, which can run efficiently in any home with excess solar power11. Not only is this distributed, it is much more scalable. By enabling home mining, a country not only avoids the centralized pitfalls of a mining Thermopylae, but metaphorically allows every single Persian citizen in the empire the opportunity to participate in the battle.
The benefits aren’t simply strategic. They are green. Arguably, home solar users in the United States benefit more from tax credits than they do the actual technology12. What can be particularly sad is the unquantifiable and usually opaque upfront human rights and environmental damage that goes into precious mineral mining13 and the manufacturing process. Storage batteries in particular are the biggest culprit in this regard14. Ironically, batteries are also the best alternative to bitcoin mining to make the most of any stranded energy. These financial and environmental expenses demand financial and environmental benefits. Yet, in order to produce a workable solar setup, overbuilding for various seasonal and weather patterns is necessary15. The only way to use up all of this energy, while allowing for unexpected curtailment when either the weather is not agreeable or surprise energy needs arise, is with an energy consumer that is both time and location agnostic.
Bitcoin mining fits both of these categories. The network is verifying transactions in blocks twenty-four hours and day, seven days a week. These blocks can be produced just as easily at the top of Mt. Everest as they can at the bottom of the Mariana Trench. Bitcoin mining can exist in every single home of a country, whether or not the homeowner has cheap solar power or not. However, it certainly can be done cheaper with a solar setup. Meanwhile, due to the limited nature of bitcoin’s issuance schedule16, these miners simultaneously take profits away from rival miners that don’t posses cheap, stranded energy. As a result, not only are the green miners using all of their energy, the dirty miners lose their incentive to mine at all.
Thus, any nation that allows it’s citizens the opportunity to mine at home with as little stress as possible, not only protects it’s national interests by having more transactions verified within it’s borders and by it’s people, it incentivizes that citizenry to move all of it’s other domestic energy consumption, not just bitcoin mining, to a green energy option. Besides this, the same decentralizing effect that the Bitcoin network enjoys, and all of it’s security benefits, will transfer over to that nation’s energy grid infrastructure. This can be accomplished by exempting bitcoin miners below a certain profit margin, or even below a certain hash-rate, from income taxes related to mining. Creating clear regulations for bitcoin mining as the heat source for various domestic heating products, ranging from HVAC to water to cooking, would also encourage development in this sector. Finally, giving clear guidelines to solar installers who intend to supplement their business with home bitcoin mining installation will give confidence to contractors who desire to pursue an even greener solar industry. Ultimately, any barrier removed, or ambiguity clarified in the domestic mining sphere will lead to a safer, greener future, first and foremost to the country that removes these barriers, and ultimately to the rest of the world.
Footnotes
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Tidy, Joe “Bitcoin in the bush - the crypto mine in remote Zambia.” BBC. March 25, 2025 1 https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cly4xe373p4o. ↩
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Crusoe “Meet the Company Mining Bitcoin Using the Flare Gas from Oil Drilling - and Drawing Investment from Coinbase and the Winklevii.” June 21, 2025 https://www.crusoe.ai/resources/newsroom/bitcoin-mining-with-oil-drilled-flared-gas. ↩
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Popescu, Adam “Gorillas, militias, and Bitcoin: Why Congo’s most famous national park is betting big on crypto.” MIT Technology Review. January 13, 2023 https://www.technologyreview.com/2023/01/13/1066820/cryptocurrency-bitcoin-mining-congo-virunga-national-park/. ↩
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Bratcher, Lee “Bitcoin Mining And ERCOT – The Data Tells The Story.” Bitcoin Magazine. February 6, 2024 https://bitcoinmagazine.com/markets/bitcoin-mining-and-ercot-the-data-tells-the-story. ↩
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Renteria, Nelson “El Salvador mined nearly 474 bitcoins, adding to state crypto holding, in last three years.” Reuters May 14, 2024 https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/el-salvador-mined-nearly-474-bitcoins-adding-state-crypto-holding-last-three-2024-05-14/. ↩
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Feiger, Erin “The US government is giving away billions of dollars for home energy upgrades — here's how much you can grab for yours.” msn. August 21, 2024 https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/other/the-us-government-is-giving-away-billions-of-dollars-for-home-energy-upgrades-here-s-how-much-you-can-grab-for-yours/ar-AA1p9SMt. ↩
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Cohen, Stacy Sare “A Complete Guide To Payback Periods For Solar Panels.” Forbes. February 9, 2024 https://www.forbes.com/home-improvement/solar/guide-to-solar-payback-periods/. ↩
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Wasielewski, Philip “The Roots of Russian Military Dysfunction.” Foreign Policy Research Institute. March 31, 2023 https://www.fpri.org/article/2023/03/the-roots-of-russian-military-dysfunction/. ↩
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Ranganathan, Video “Bruised by stock market, Chinese rush into banned bitcoin.” Reuters. January 25, 2024 https://www.reuters.com/technology/bruised-by-stock-market-chinese-rush-into-banned-bitcoin-2024-01-25/. ↩
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Straten, James Van “Foundry USA and Antpool command almost 60% of Bitcoin mining pool market.” CryptoSlate. July 4, 2024 https://cryptoslate.com/insights/dual-dominance-foundry-usa-and-antpool-command-60-of-bitcoin-mining-pool-market/. ↩
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D-Central Technologies. “Integrating Solar Power with Home Bitcoin Mining: A Green Approach.” August 30, 2024 https://d-central.tech/integrating-solar-power-with-home-bitcoin-mining-a-green-approach/. ↩
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Rascoe, Ayesha “Federal tax credits for solar energy could be eliminated, what are the impacts?” npr. June 1, 2025 https://www.npr.org/2025/06/01/nx-s1-5416789/federal-tax-credits-for-solar-energy-could-be-eliminated-what-are-the-impacts. ↩
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Gross, Terry “How 'modern-day slavery' in the Congo powers the rechargeable battery economy.” npr. February 1, 2023 https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2023/02/01/1152893248/red-cobalt-congo-drc-mining-siddharth-kara. ↩
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UMA Technology “The Dirty Problem With Electric Vehicles? Mining for Batteries.” December 14 31, 2024 https://umatechnology.org/the-dirty-problem-with-electric-vehicles-mining-for-batteries/ ↩
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Barnard, Michael “Why Should We Overbuild Wind And Solar To Address Climate Change?” Forbes. August 17, 2023 https://www.forbes.com/sites/michaelbarnard/2023/08/17/why-should-we-overbuild-wind-and-solar-to-address-climate-change/. ↩
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Lightspark Team “Bitcoin's Predetermined Supply Schedule Explained.” Lightspark. June 30, 2025 https://www.lightspark.com/glossary/bitcoin-supply-schedule. ↩