World War III threatens Bitcoin mining infrastructure | Opinion

The geopolitical situation globally has deteriorated over the past several years. With Europe undergoing rearmament, there is a clear and present danger—a Third World War—to European and Eurasian Bitcoin (BTC) and crypto mining infrastructure.

It is estimated that Germany alone mines 5 percent of Bitcoin’s hashrate. Norway has 2 percent of the Bitcoin hashrate. Meanwhile, 11 percent of the Bitcoin hashrate is located in Russia. These hashrates could be at risk if a full-scale war breaks out. Bitcoin and crypto infrastructure in the regions could endure targeted or collateral damage. Either way, a wider war in Europe will likely decrease mine production in the area directly or indirectly, whether from high energy costs, energy rationing, or otherwise. 

These operations use hydropower, wind, solar, and geothermal energy, often integrating with local grids or heating systems, making them borderline critical infrastructure.

Bitcoin miners in Norway

One can look to Norway to see how towns are becoming dependent on Bitcoin miners. After a local Bitcoin miner shut down, power bills increased by $300 per year for each home in one Norwegian town. 

The miner paid 20 percent of the area’s grid fees. When the miner left, power bills in the town skyrocketed. This example underscores the increasing role Bitcoin and crypto miners play as critical infrastructure and potential targets. In such a scenario, an enemy could see knocking miners offline as fair game in a war scenario.

Bitcoin and crypto miners in Europe 

Bitcoin and mining infrastructure could be affected throughout the continent. Europe’s Bitcoin mines are concentrated in Norway, Sweden, Finland, Germany, Austria, and Iceland.

Norway is Europe’s largest mining hub and accounts for around three percent of Bitcoin’s global hashrate. Several mining companies operate in the country. Kryptovault has numerous facilities in northern Norway. Northern Data is headquartered in Germany but operates several mines in Norway, such as the Lefdal Mine data center. 

Sweden, which has increased military spending by 40 percent amid tensions with Russia, hosts many mining sites, such as facilities operated by Northern Data—in particular, its Boden site. The Canadian company Hive Blockchain also operates sites in Sweden. 

Finland is home to Terahash’s Genesis Project, which supplies heat to a district heating network for a town of 12,000 residents, making it potentially critical infrastructure. The heat from the high-temperature miners provides hot water in summer and heats homes in the winter. 

Terahash partners with industrial parks in Germany to combine solar PV, battery storage, and miners for grid stability and heat supply. Northern Data, which is based in Frankfurt, also operates a site in Germany. Terahash Energy also launched pilot projects testing the concept in Germany and Finland. Germany, of course, is undergoing a headline-grabbing rearmament effort that has received parliamentary approval. 

The Austrian Power Grid & 21Energy Pilot experiments use Bitcoin mining to harness excess renewable energy to support the nation’s grid. Genesis Mining opened its first mine in Iceland in 2013—the company mines in other locations, including Latvia and Lithuania, which are home to smaller-scale operations. Ireland and Greece are also home to miners.

Bitcoin and crypto miners in Russia 

There are also major Bitcoin mines in Russia. BitRiver operates in Bratsk, Siberia, one of the biggest data centers in the former Soviet Union. BitRiver was sanctioned by the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) in 2022 for aiding sanctions evasion. BitRiver partnered with the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) in October 2024 to expand Bitcoin mining and AI computing facilities to BRICS countries. 

OFAC designated 10 Russia-based subsidiaries of Bitriver AG for operating in the Russian economy’s technology sector. BitRiver ultimately shifted legal ownership to a Switzerland-based holding company. 

Gazpromneft, the oil subsidiary of Russia’s state-owned gas giant Gazprom, runs a Siberian Operation at an oil drilling site in the Khanty-Mansiysk region in northwestern Siberia. The operation employs associated natural gas to generate electricity for mining. 

According to the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, Gazpromneft partnered with BitRiver to construct mining operations at oil fields. Russian Mining Company (RMC) is located in Karelia, northern Russia. It is being designed from a repurposed Rusal metal factory, which was shuttered due to U.S. sanctions in 2018, into a Bitcoin mining farm.

Bitcoin and crypto must adapt to the threat of war in Europe 

A wider war in Europe threatens Bitcoin and crypto mining infrastructure. If wartime conditions spread and European mining became prohibitive, firms could look to the United States. The U.S. might end up involved in the European war and other wars, including those against China and Iran, which are home to 11.5 percent and 4 percent of the Bitcoin hashrate. The U.S. West Coast was attacked during the last global conflict, World War II, and could sustain attacks in a World War III-style conflict.

If mining conditions become unfriendly in the U.S., it is likely that much of the Bitcoin and crypto mining will move to Latin America and parts of Asia, quite possibly forever. Countries like El Salvador and Bhutan are already at the forefront of state actors who are mining Bitcoin and could see an influx of miners from the West if global conflict breaks out.

Kadan Stadelmann

Kadan Stadelmann is a blockchain developer, operations security expert, and Komodo Platform’s chief technology officer. His experience ranges from working in operations security in the government sector and launching technology startups to application development and cryptography. Kadan started his journey into blockchain technology in 2011 and joined the Komodo team in 2016.