HashrateUp - A Bitcoin Mining Podcast

Cheap power means nothing if the government turns against you. Giannis Andreou, CEO of Bitmern Mining, started hosting Bitcoin miners in the UAE on agricultural power below 6¢/kWh, was forced out when the government banned that power, moved to Ethiopia, and is now watching the same story repeat as the Ethiopian government takes over mining and large operators pack up and leave.

Giannis breaks down what went wrong in both countries, why it took 45 days to get his miners out of the UAE, how Ethiopia's uptime fell to 70% before things got worse, and why exporting miners from Ethiopia comes with a 35% tax. His conclusion: own the land and the infrastructure, or don't build on it at all.

We also cover his pivot to buying two farms in Texas (5.5 MW and 8 MW), why AI data centers pay 17 to 25¢/kWh while he found power at 3.9¢, why he stopped retail hosting, a 20 MW joint venture opportunity in Brazil, and how he borrowed against mined Bitcoin to pay for power at $25K and held it to $107K.

Nothing discussed is financial advice. Do your own diligence before making mining or hosting decisions.

Guest: Giannis Andreou, Founder & CEO of Bitmern Mining
Bitmern Mining: https://www.bitmernmining.com
Bitmern on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@bitmernmining
Giannis on X: https://x.com/gandreou007
Giannis on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gianisandreou
Giannis on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/giannisandreou/

Timestamps:

0:00 Intro
0:46 From crypto YouTuber to Bitcoin miner
2:23 Central banks and the case for mining
4:21 Greece, Cyprus and the banking crisis
6:39 Why the UAE in 2023
7:35 Agricultural power below 6¢/kWh
8:43 Renting farms vs building your own
9:29 How to choose a hosting partner
11:07 Leaving the UAE: 45 days to move miners
12:30 UAE loopholes and $600K per MW capex
13:38 Ethiopia: from great to complete disaster
15:02 The lesson: own the land and the farm
15:45 Sponsor: Altair Technology
16:16 Why 30 minutes from the airport is a red flag
17:40 The pivot: buying 5.5 MW and 8 MW in Texas
18:37 Bitcoin mining vs AI: 3.9¢ vs 25¢/kWh
21:12 Why he stopped retail hosting
22:56 Finland, Norway and the hidden costs abroad
23:44 Ethiopia's 35% export tax on miners
24:44 Manufacturer JVs and 20 MW in Brazil
25:51 Is Bitcoin mining becoming institutional only?
27:31 Why hashrate didn't drop at $60K
28:36 Will Bitcoin average above $120K?
30:31 Borrowing against BTC to pay for power
32:51 Communicating downtime to customers
34:18 Bribes, quotas and the 20% energy rule
35:24 Wrap-up

Sponsored by:

Altair Technology. ASIC hardware, replacement parts and mining infrastructure
Code: HASHRATEUP
https://altairtech.io/aff/125/

HashrateUp Hardware Deals: https://t.me/hashrateup
Free 5-Day Bitcoin Mining Course: https://hashrateup.com/newsletter-sign-up/

#BitcoinMining #Ethiopia #UAE #BitmernMining #TexasMining #MiningHosting #HashrateUp

Texas is ending 4CP. The incentive that saved flexible miners roughly $50,000 per MW per year is likely in its final season, and ERCOT is moving toward 12CP by 2028. Haley Thomson, Director of Energy at Luxor, explains what that means for Bitcoin miners and who ends up paying for the grid.Haley breaks down how 4CP actually works, why firm loads are pushing for change, and how 18+ GW of new battery storage has compressed capacity prices across ERCOT. We also cover why Bitcoin mining is close to the perfect grid-balancing load, how batteries and miners compare as grid assets, and how Luxor performed what's likely the first 4CP curtailment of GPUs in ERCOT.We also walk through the Luxor Energy dashboard live, from tracking load against breakeven to iMiner underclocking, 4CP buffer settings and what it really costs to be online during a peak. At the time of recording, 4CP season 2026 was likely already over.This episode is not sponsored by Luxor. Nothing discussed is financial advice. Do your own diligence before making energy or mining decisions.Guest: Haley Thomson, Director of Energy at Luxor TechnologyLuxor Energy: https://luxor.tech/energyHaley on Hashrate Index: https://hashrateindex.com/blog/author/haley/Luxor: https://luxor.techTimestamps:0:00 Intro0:45 Can AI provide grid flexibility?1:31 The first GPU 4CP curtailment in ERCOT3:45 What 4CP is worth: ~$50K per MW per year6:02 How 4CP works and who pays for the grid8:54 Why Bitcoin mining is the perfect flexible load11:45 Adding 60 GW of renewables: the transmission bottleneck14:00 Why firm loads want 4CP gone16:43 How miners lower off-peak energy prices20:57 Renewables, congestion and transmission costs24:54 12CP explained: what changes for miners29:29 Curtailing at $0 power: the solar mismatch31:04 How 18 GW of batteries reshaped ERCOT36:22 Battery vs Bitcoin mine39:10 Capex: batteries vs hydro vs air-cooled mining41:49 Luxor Energy dashboard walkthrough43:54 iMiner: raising breakeven from $75 to $90/MWh45:28 4CP buffer settings and risk48:58 What missing a 4CP peak really costs51:54 The AI pivot and tier-zero data centers55:11 Where to find Haley and Luxor EnergySponsored by:Altair Technology. ASIC hardware, replacement parts and mining infrastructureCode: HASHRATEUPhttps://altairtech.io/aff/125/HashrateUp Hardware Deals: https://t.me/hashrateupFree 5-Day Bitcoin Mining Course: https://hashrateup.com/newsletter-sign-up/#BitcoinMining #ERCOT #4CP #LuxorEnergy #HashrateUp

Matteo Spinosa, founder and CEO of Doefin, built the first accessible prediction market for Bitcoin miners to hedge difficulty. Doefin lets miners and traders take a directional view on network hashrate — or lock in revenue certainty before difficulty spikes — using a Polymarket-style venue where price equals probability.

In this episode, Matteo breaks down why Bitcoin miners have historically been unbankable and uninvestable: difficulty volatility has run twice as volatile as the S&P 500, making cash flow impossible to forecast. Doefin gives miners a primitive tool to stabilize revenue, or to speculate on where hashrate is going.

We cover how the Oracle works (SHA-256 validation of Bitcoin block headers, secured by the network itself), why settlement is non-custodial via cbBTC on Base, and how a miner can hedge a specific amount of petahash against a difficulty increase. Matteo also walks through a live demo of the platform, explains the "For Miners" hedging tool, and shares why Doefin stays out of scope regulation-wise with legal opinions in the UK and Mauritius.

Doefin launched to the public one week before recording, already has seven miners trading (roughly 0.15 BTC in volume), and is building toward a full forward curve for hashrate.

Guest: Matteo Spinosa, CEO and Founder of Doefin

Doefin: https://www.doefin.com/
Matteo on X: https://x.com/MatteoDoefin
Doefin on X: https://x.com/DoefinOfficial

Timestamps:

0:00 Intro: what is Doefin and the gap it fills
4:00 Price equals probability explained
9:30 The Oracle problem: how difficulty is validated
15:00 Liquidity and finding the first miners
20:30 Licensing, non-custodial structure and regulation
25:00 Platform demo: deposits, markets and taking a position
32:00 The "For Miners" hedging tool walkthrough
38:00 What's next: forward curve, Asia and scaling

Sponsored by:

Altair Technology. ASIC hardware, replacement parts and mining infrastructure
Code: HASHRATEUP
https://altairtech.io/aff/125/

HashrateUp Hardware Deals: https://t.me/hashrateup
Free 5-Day Bitcoin Mining Course: https://hashrateup.com/newsletter-sign-up/

#BitcoinMining #Hashrate #DifficultyHedging #Doefin #PredictionMarket #HashPrice #HashrateUp

Elmeri Suomi runs a heating company that happens to mine Bitcoin. His product, the SunBit Bitcoin Boiler, drops one or two hydro-cooled ASICs into a water tank, heats a house to 60°C, and lets the mining revenue pay the power bill — in the best case leaving the homeowner in profit on their heating. He started in water-to-air heat pump sales, began mining as a hobby in 2020, and founded SunBit in 2023 once the two worlds clicked.

In this episode we get into the economics that make consumer-scale mining work at 7–12¢/kWh power: not fat mining margins, but offsetting an oil bill that can run 3,500 litres a year at €1.80/litre. Elmeri walks through the ROI (two years best case, five years worst), why he explains everything in cents per kWh instead of hashprice, and how spot-price optimisation and solar over-production feed into the tank.

We also cover why he abandoned immersion after too much grey hair — dissolved cooling paste, dead S21s and oil everywhere — and landed on hydro; why the boxes are Antminers, not Whatsminers (60°C is all you need once you're past Legionella at 52–55°C); the 3×25A wiring that lets it fit a normal Finnish home; the first installs in Kotka and Nokia plus the first international job in the Netherlands; and the pre-seed raise now funding a 100 kW industrial version.

Guest: Elmeri Suomi, CEO & Founder of SunBit Oy

SunBit: https://sunbit.fi/en
SunBit on X: https://x.com/SunbitOy
SunBit on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/sunbit-oy/

Timestamps:

0:00 Intro: a heating company that mines Bitcoin
4:30 Where the savings really come from — offsetting the oil bill
11:00 Explaining hashprice vs cents per kWh, pool and Lightning
17:30 Skepticism, "is this legal?" and the remote-managed mini-PC
23:00 Why hydro beat immersion — the grey-hair story
29:00 First installs, the total market and the pre-seed raise

Sponsored by:

Luxor. Mining pool, firmware, hardware trading and hashrate tools
https://luxor.tech/

Altair Technology. ASIC hardware, replacement parts and mining infrastructure
Code: HASHRATEUP
https://altairtech.io/aff/125/

HashrateUp Hardware Deals: https://t.me/hashrateup
Free 5-Day Bitcoin Mining Course: https://hashrateup.com/newsletter-sign-up/

#BitcoinMining #HeatReuse #BitcoinBoiler #SunBit #Finland #HydroCooling #HomeMining #ASIC #Bitcoin #HashrateUp

Hash price is holding at elevated levels, but Bitcoin mining is entering a very different kind of market. Public miners are shedding hashrate, AI infrastructure keeps absorbing power, and for the first time in years the network may be facing a genuine period of declining hashrate.
In this news roundup: Zcash mining economics are exploding as Z15 Pros generate multiples of current Bitcoin mining revenue, Tether walks away from a $120M mining investment in Uruguay after a power dispute, Bitdeer approaches 9% of Bitcoin block rewards, and AWS + Nvidia plan another 2 million GPUs as AI infrastructure keeps expanding.
We also look at Sweden's VAT crackdown on crypto miners, Bitdeer's $100M Texas land acquisition for AI/HPC expansion, Canaan pausing mining operations in Ethiopia, and Demand's new Stratum V2 transaction acceleration model that could change how mining pools compete for hashrate.
The bigger question: if AI keeps winning the competition for power in developed markets, where does Bitcoin mining go next — and what happens when pools have to fight over a shrinking hashrate pie?
🛠 Sponsored by:
Altair Technology — ASIC hardware, replacement parts & mining infrastructure
Code: HASHRATEUP
https://altairtech.io/aff/125/
Luxor — Mining software, firmware & hashrate tools
https://luxor.tech/
Timestamps:
0:00 Intro — Hash price & difficulty outlook
1:22 Zcash mining surge — Z15 Pro economics
4:43 Tether's $120M Uruguay mining bet collapses
7:04 Sponsor: Altair Technology
7:30 Bitdeer nears 9% of Bitcoin block rewards
8:00 AWS + Nvidia plan another 2 million GPUs
8:48 Bitcoin miners outperform the AI trade
9:32 Sweden's VAT crackdown on crypto miners
11:52 Bitdeer buys 200 acres in Texas for AI/HPC expansion
12:42 $31.6T projected data center spending through 2050
14:05 Sponsor: Luxor
14:40 Public miners shed 56 EH/s as AI retrofits accelerate
15:12 Canaan pauses Bitcoin mining operations in Ethiopia
16:04 Demand brings transaction acceleration to Stratum V2
17:14 Bitcoin's first declining-hashrate environment
17:58 Final thoughts & mining market opportunities
📊 HashrateUp Hardware Deals: https://t.me/hashrateup
📩 Free 5-Day Bitcoin Mining Course: https://hashrateup.com/newsletter-sign-up/
#BitcoinMining #HashPrice #Zcash #ArtificialIntelligence #BitcoinHashrate #Bitdeer #Tether #DataCenter #StratumV2 #MiningPool #BitcoinNews #HashrateUp