Speakers included representatives from Uminers, Bitcoin Mining World, Ledger, Bitdeer, Kaspa, Dash, Texas Blockchain Council, “The Bitcoin Cash“ and “The Build-a-Mine“ podcasts.
The most effective crypto onboarding
“Now, the default entry point for most users is through exchanges, which first introduce them to price speculation instead of blockchain usage. Earlier, however, it was mining that brought people to crypto, and it’s still an excellent use case for giving everyday users a role in securing the network,“ said Joël Valenzuela, Dash’s head of business development and marketing.
Often born out of independent learning, solo mining hasn’t faded away, even though industrial players are leading the way, especially in Bitcoin mining.
“Compact devices like Bitaxes feel like a chance to win the lottery to many people,“ said Scott Offord, CEO of Bitcoin Mining World. Chris Wolf, director of business development at Kaspa, shared his views, noting that profitability isn’t always the point for small-scale miners, but rather, it “helps them stay in touch and is kind of a hobby.“
Such hobbyists can get quite resourceful. “They keep the greenhouses warm or even distill alcohol with the heat from the Bitcoin mining,’ noted Offord. He also described an innovative project in Illinois where a scrapyard processes old tires into usable gases like methane and propane, which are then used to generate electricity for Bitcoin mining. The remaining material is reused in construction, including roofing and asphalt.
According to Wolf, the revival of home mining is possible due to small, low-wattage miners. He pointed to Kaspa’s algorithm, which cuts power use by about 40% compared to legacy systems like SHA-256, allowing even tiny USB miners to stay in the game.
Infrastructure expansion
According to the speakers, Bitcoin miners are beginning to explore new territory by combining their mining infrastructure with AI-focused operations. Filip Arambasic, the head of strategy and partnerships at Uminers, noted that miners lease excess power for AI workloads, particularly during downturns in the BTC market. It signals a shift in how miners are looking to diversify their revenue streams.
Offord agreed, saying that miners are starting to see themselves not just as crypto infrastructure providers, but as full-fledged data center operators. Sharif Allayarov, Bitdeer’s sales director, shared an example of this crossover: his company partnered with Nvidia to build high-performance computing centers. “It’s a good showcase for other miners who can increase their profitability by mining and doing AI,“ he said.
As retail miners have started to explore more advanced setups, including collective mining structures and treasury strategies, interest in security and custody has risen. Sebastien Badault from EVP Ledger Enterprise noted this increase. “Miners aren’t our largest vertical, but inbound requests from them have increased significantly over the past year,“ he said.
PoW is still viable
The conversation then turned to the long-term viability of proof-of-work mining. Referencing Dash’s evolution, Valenzuela explained that, although the project began as a 100% PoW coin, it has since transitioned much of its functionality to staking mechanisms. “Now, we get most of our security from chain locks, and data transactions run purely on the staked layer,“ he said. He added that other projects, such as Zcash, Decred, Firo, and Zano, are also shifting toward hybrid or fully staked models.
Nevertheless, Valenzuela doesn’t believe PoW is going away. Instead, he sees the need for innovation. “Using existing or surplus electricity to address issues such as ASIC and mining pool centralization, as well as re-engaging small miners, is a much better approach than competing for everything directly.“
Offord added that flexible miners can help balance power grids and even reduce electricity costs for communities. He’s optimistic that, with the increasing integration of renewable energy, the future of PoW can be sustainable and widely accepted.
Next mining hotspots
When talking about the most attractive places for mining, speakers identified several locations. Arambasic highlighted Ethiopia’s favorable electricity rates, climate, and infrastructure, where Uminers is setting up a 175-megawatt data center. He also mentioned Bhutan, Paraguay, and Texas as other promising locations.
Despite the high temperatures, Wolf pointed out that the Middle East, particularly the UAE, has potential. He reaffirmed Texas as a mining-friendly environment and expressed optimism about other U.S. regions, such as Kansas and South Dakota, due to affordable real estate and electricity.
In Offord’s words, Bitcoin Mining World has been watching Pakistan closely since the country announced plans for a Bitcoin strategic reserve. However, there are still open regulatory questions, including whether citizens can legally own Bitcoin and whether it’s safe for investors to build mining operations there.
Wolf emphasized that broader geographical participation in mining would help decentralize the global hashrate, which is currently concentrated in the US and Asia.
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