How Bitcoin can be used to drive development | D+C - Development + Cooperation

The entrepreneurial case

In the 19th century, huge amounts of capital were channelled into railway construction, and every decade opened up a new market – from Japan and South Africa to Canada and Kenya. Today’s railways are data centres, chips, fibre optics and electricity.

Bitcoin can play a role here too. A company called Gridless uses Bitcoin mining to extend electrification to even the most remote areas of Africa.

The core concept involves selling the same electricity to multiple consumers within a defined hierarchy. Priority is always given to the community – residential buildings, shops, clinics and schools. Any surplus not consumed by these is then sold to companies that use artificial intelligence; these pay more and generate the bulk of the revenue. Whatever remains after that goes towards Bitcoin mining – the consumer of last resort, which is prepared to take on surplus electricity at any time, pay for it in cash and release it immediately as soon as the communities or AI companies need it.

The facility itself does not need to purchase the costly hardware. Capital partners buy and own the expensive AI computers; energy partners own the generation facilities; the local communities buy ordinary electricity; AI customers buy computing power; and Bitcoin takes whatever is left over. The company operating the system merely manages the flow.