Low electricity costs fuel crypto mining boom in Georgia

Georgia is reporting a surge in cryptocurrency mining spurred by affordable electricity prices and the legalization of the industry.

According to official stats, mining enterprises are now using around 5% of the electric energy generated in the South Caucasian nation.

Georgian mining farms almost double their power usage

Cryptocurrency mining in Georgia is seeing record growth as evidenced by a significant increase in electricity consumption in the sector, local media revealed.

Power usage by large data processing centers is growing rapidly, according to a report by the Business Georgia portal.

The computing facilities, located mainly in the Tbilisi and Kutaisi free economic zones, are primarily engaged in the minting of digital currencies.

The output of the companies involved in the crypto activity has tripled last year, the economic news outlet unveiled on Tuesday.

With 675 million kWh of electricity burned between January and November 2025, they now account for 5% of the country’s total consumption, show figures provided the Georgian National Energy and Water Supply Regulatory Commission (GNERC).

The regional Russian-language online newspaper Vesti Kavkaza estimated this is almost 80% more than the power they utilized the previous year.

Analysts attribute the upward trend to several factors, including the increase in the value of the digital assets in 2025, relatively low electricity rates in the former Soviet republic and efforts by the Georgian government to legalize and regulate the sector.

The price of Bitcoin (BTC), the cryptocurrency with the largest market cap, reached an all-time high of over $126,000 in October, while Georgia’s cheap energy and friendly regulations convinced the mining giant Bitfury to set up operations there.

Who are the biggest electricity consumers among miners?

Having utilized 403 million kWh of electricity, AITEC Solution is the biggest consumer among data center operators. The company runs the Gldani facility in the Georgian capital Tbilisi, where Bitfury used to mine previously.

Texprint Corporation, which operates from the Kutaisi Free Economic Zone, is the second-largest electricity consumer. It used 135 million kWh between January and September.

With 104 million kWh, TFZ Service LLC ranks third. While this particular company is not directly engaged in cryptocurrency mining, it supplies electricity to mining firms working at the Tbilisi Free Industrial Zone.

Two other companies complete the top five – ITLab, which consumed 24.6 million kWh, and Data Hub, which accounted for 7.2 million kWh, Business Georgia detailed.

Growing power usage for mining poses challenges for nations in the region

Both companies and individuals are free to mine cryptocurrency in Georgia, which maintains a favorable tax regime since 2019, although legislation adopted in 2023 increased oversight in the space.

The country produces the bulk of its electricity by harnessing hydro power, with up to 80% of domestically generated electricity coming from hydroelectric stations, and is still coping with demand.

However, the coin minting boom in the rest of the former Soviet space has been causing headaches for local and national authorities, with rising electricity consumption resulting in energy shortages.

The Russian Federation, which legalized cryptocurrency mining in late 2024, has since banned the business in about a dozen of its regions.

It intends to punish illegal activities, often involving mining on stolen power, with hefty fines and even prison time. A draft law introducing the new measures was just filed in parliament.

Elsewhere, Tajikistan threatened rogue crypto miners with similar penalties imposed via amendments approved by its legislature late last year.

In November, Kyrgyzstan shut down all crypto mining farms running in its territory, citing growing power deficits during the cold winter months as the main reason for the move.

Meanwhile, Kazakhstan has largely managed to overcome the problem by introducing higher electricity rates for cryptocurrency farms and stricter regulations for the industry.