The pattern of Bitcoin mining is changing! The competition among the US, Russia, and Iran, with Bhutan accounting for 40% of its GDP, and Tether making a big bet on the largest mining company?

Once upon a time, when it came to Bitcoin mining, the world's attention would invariably turn to China. However, with China's complete withdrawal from the mining industry in 2021, the end of one era also heralded the beginning of a new one. Today, the global landscape of Bitcoin mining is undergoing a profound, complex, and geopolitically colored reshaping. This is no longer a one-man show dominated by a single country, but a global "Mining War" involving energy superpowers, sovereign nations, and even cryptocurrency giants. In this new competition, the United States and Russia are staging a new "bipolar struggle," while Bhutan, a nation in the Himalayas, has emerged with an astonishing "national mining" model, and the stablecoin giant Tether is betting billions on the throne of the world's largest mining company. Great Power Game Recently, the drastic fluctuations in the global Bitcoin mining landscape have laid bare the struggles between major powers for all to see. On the same day that the U.S. launched a military strike on Iran's nuclear facilities, Bitcoin's global hash rate experienced the most severe drop in three years, falling by over 15%. This astonishing coincidence has fueled speculation within the crypto community about whether "the U.S. is bombing Iran's secret Bitcoin mining farms." Bitcoin OG Max Keiser even stated, "We may have entered an era where countries are bombing each other's Bitcoin mining facilities, which is exactly what I predicted in 2017 as the global hash rate war." Iran's Bitcoin mining was originally an "innovative move" to seek economic breakthroughs under severe sanctions from the United States. The country utilizes its abundant and cheap energy to view mining as a tool to bypass the traditional banking system and earn valuable foreign exchange. It is estimated that Iran once accounted for about 4% of the global Bitcoin hash rate. However, this time, the war has forced Bitcoin mining to be interrupted, triggering a global hash rate war.

Across the ocean, the United States, with its mature capital markets and relatively clear regulatory expectations, firmly holds the top position in global Bitcoin Mining. However, this new hegemon is not resting easy. Internally, it is facing a profound supply chain challenge—dependence on Chinese-made mining machines. Chinese mining equipment manufacturers, represented by Bitmain and MicroBT, have long dominated the global market. The tariff policies imposed by the United States on Chinese goods have directly increased the hardware costs for American miners, weakening their competitiveness. To cope with this situation, manufacturers like Bitmain are accelerating their plans to build factories in the United States, attempting to circumvent tariff barriers through localized production. This indicates that the future competition in global Mining will not only be about energy costs but also about the reconstruction of the hardware supply chain. As the US and Iran are caught in a direct or indirect power struggle, Russia is being seen as a potential winner in this power war. Analysts predict that, with its abundant energy resources and relatively stable policy environment, Russia is expected to surpass the US in the near future and become the world's first or second largest Bitcoin mining power. Small Country Grand Strategy While major powers are fiercely battling on the battlefield of computing power, some smaller countries have taken a different approach, turning Bitcoin mining into a unique tool for national development.

The kingdom of Bhutan, hidden in the Himalayas, is showcasing a stunning "happiness mining." Utilizing its rich and surplus zero-carbon hydropower resources, this country with a population of only 800,000 has quietly mined and accumulated Bitcoin worth about $1.3 billion in the past five years, a figure equivalent to 40% of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP), making it the third-largest government holder of Bitcoin in the world. Bitcoin mining is becoming a tangible "national treasury" for Bhutan, representing an unprecedented development model that deeply ties the nation's fate to the Bitcoin network. This national-level program, personally ordered by the King of Bhutan, began in 2020. Its national think tank, DHI, realized that using excess cheap hydropower for Mining is an excellent way to convert natural resources into national wealth. This vast digital asset is tangibly feeding back into the real economy: the Bhutanese government is using Mining surpluses to raise salaries for all civil servants by 50% and is implementing a cryptocurrency payment system in the capital, attempting to create a complete economic cycle from "miners to wallets, and then to cities." Bhutan's success provides a bold and wise demonstration for small economies around the world.

Inspired by the successes of countries like Bhutan, Pakistan, facing severe financial pressure, also plans to shift its idle 2,000 megawatt (2GW) power generation capacity towards Bitcoin mining and AI data centers. The government hopes to save $745 million annually in power plant capacity fees and generate nearly $1.8 billion in foreign exchange income. However, the challenges faced by Pakistan are far greater than those of Bhutan: its high industrial electricity prices, dependence on electricity subsidies, and pressure from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) all make this path to catch up fraught with uncertainty. The ambitions of corporate giants In this competition dominated by nations, a native giant of the crypto world is entering the scene as a disruptor. Tether, the largest issuer of the global stablecoin USDT, is no longer satisfied with its dominant position in the stablecoin market. Its CEO, Paolo Ardoino, recently publicly stated that Tether's goal is to become "the world's number one Bitcoin mining company" by the end of 2025.

This is not just an empty slogan. Since 2023, Tether has invested over $2 billion in building green energy-focused mining facilities in 15 locations worldwide (such as Uruguay, Paraguay, and El Salvador). Ardoino admitted that Tether's motivation is not only financial investment but also strategic consideration: as a whale holding over 100,000 Bitcoins, personally participating in mining and becoming part of the "Bitcoin network security team" is the best way to safeguard its massive reserve assets. Tether's entry marks a new dimension in the power struggle: a privately-owned enterprise with wealth comparable to that of a nation is participating in the competition for Bitcoin's underlying infrastructure with national-level strength. The Power Game of the New Era From the geopolitical struggles between major powers to the economic development strategies of smaller nations, and the strategic layout of corporate giants, the global landscape of Bitcoin mining is undergoing a profound and intense reshaping. Hashrate, which was originally a purely technical indicator, is now closely linked to national energy security, financial sovereignty, economic competitiveness, and even military strategy. In summary, the old era of Bitcoin Mining has come to an end, and a new world order is being formed. The global race surrounding Bitcoin's computing power has been set in motion, and its ultimate direction will undoubtedly have a profound impact on the global power landscape of the 21st century.