Kenya-Based Bitcoin Mining Company Raises $2M in Seed Investment Led by Jack Dorsey-Owned Company – Mining Bitcoin News

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Gridless, a bitcoin mining company operating in Kenya, recently raised $2 million in seed investment from Block, a digital payments company owned by Twitter founder Jack Dorsey and Stillmark. The Bitcoin mining company reportedly intends to use the capital raised to fund its expansion into other African countries.

Use of revenue generated from BTC sales to subsidize the cost of electricity

A digital payments company owned by Jack Dorsey, Block, and bitcoin-focused venture capital firm Stillmark, reportedly led a $2 million seed investment in African crypto-mining company Gridless. According to a report, Gridless, which currently operates in rural areas of Kenya, plans to fund its expansion into other African countries with the capital raised.

As Bitcoin.com News reported in October, Gridless harnesses excess electricity generated from mini hydroelectric plants to mine bitcoin. The bitcoin is then sold and the revenue generated is used to subsidize the cost of electricity for users in rural Kenya. At the time, Gridless said it was harnessing electricity from power plants that produced less than 100 kilowatts (KW).

Meanwhile, a CNBC report says the crypto-mining firm’s founders, Erik Hersman, Philip Walton and Janet Maingi, have spent the past few months launching pilot mining projects. In January 2023, Gridless plans to launch a 50 KW hydroelectric mine in Malawi and a 30 KW solar site in West Africa.

Power and Connectivity

Commenting on Gridless’ announced dual mission of bringing electricity and connectivity to rural areas of Africa, Walton, who is also the mining company’s chief financial officer, said:

“We have spent years building internet connectivity infrastructure in rural and urban Africa and have realized that you cannot have a 21st century economy without electricity and connectivity. Looking at the next problem to solve, we realized that bitcoin mining solves a major problem for mini-grid renewable energy developers, in that we can be their industrial buyer of stranded electricity, no matter where they were, making electrification more sustainable and growing across Africa.

To demonstrate the effectiveness of Gridless’s business model, the CNBC report found that at one of the pilot sites, a mini hydroelectric plant effectively reduced the price of electricity by 35 cents to 25 cents per kilowatt hour.

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Terence Zimwara

Terence Zimwara is an award-winning journalist, author and writer in Zimbabwe. He has written extensively on the economic issues of some African countries as well as how digital currencies can provide an escape route for Africans.

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