Japan enters state-backed Bitcoin mining through Canaan partnership
Japan has joined the list of countries where Bitcoin mining is conducted with the involvement of state-related entities, The Block reports.This became possible after Canaan supplied mining equipment to a major Japanese energy company as part of a research project aimed at stabilizing the national power grid.
Although Canaan did not disclose the partner’s name, the move follows earlier reports that Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) — Japan’s largest energy provider — had previously experimented with Bitcoin mining through its subsidiary, using surplus renewable energy.
“All ten regional power companies in Japan are partially state-owned, which means this new project effectively brings Bitcoin mining into Japan’s public infrastructure for the first time,” commented Matthew Sigel, Head of Digital Assets at VanEck.
Sigel also noted that the Canaan announcement “adds Japan to our list of countries mining Bitcoin using state resources,” bringing the total number of such nations, excluding the U.S., to eleven.
From experiments to systematic mining
Canaan’s deal with Japan continues TEPCO’s 2024 experiments in Bitcoin mining using excess renewable energy to improve grid efficiency.
The national daily newspaper Asahi Shimbun first reported in September 2024 that TEPCO’s subsidiary Agile Energy X was testing small-scale mining facilities in Gunma and Tochigi prefectures to “prevent the waste of renewable energy.” The company aimed to convert surplus solar and wind power into Bitcoin rather than reducing output during low-demand periods.
According to Canaan, its hydro-cooled Avalon A1566HA servers will be used to “stabilize regional grid load through controlled overclocking and throttling,” dynamically adjusting hash rate and voltage to balance power consumption in real time. The facility, operated by a major regional utility company, is expected to become operational by late 2025.
Canaan views this initiative as part of a broader push into energy-efficient, grid-interactive computing, with plans to expand similar projects across Asia, North America, and Europe in 2026.
As we wrote, From shrimp to whisky: How mining heat is used
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