The United Arab Emirates has formally joined forces with a small but growing number of countries that treat Bitcoin mining as part of their national infrastructure. At the same time, long-dormant miners from the early days of the network moved $181 million worth of BTC.
According to a recent announcement circulating on social media, the UAE government is now sponsoring a Bitcoin mining operation that takes advantage of the country's large supply of natural gas. Binance founder CZ commented that the UAE “has been mining for some time,” adding that the country’s energy demand peaks only for three days in the summer, and its production capacity will cover that period, with the remaining surplus energy partially converted into Bitcoin.
Energy demand in the UAE peaks during three days in summer. Their abilities cover it. For the rest of the year, they have surplus energy, some of which is converted into Bitcoin. Durable store of value with minimal storage costs. It makes perfect sense. 🤷♂️ https://t.co/Jcw2cItMsB
— CZ🔶BNB (@cz_binance) January 12, 2026
Arkham Intelligence reported in August 2025 that the United Arab Emirates had accumulated approximately 6,300-6,450 BTC, worth approximately $700 million at the time, through state-sponsored mining conducted through Citadel Mining. The country considers Bitcoin mining to be part of its strategic infrastructure, placing it in the same category as data centres, communications and energy projects.
Policies across the federation are not uniform. In September 2025, the Emirate of Abu Dhabi banned cryptocurrency mining on agricultural land and introduced fines of up to Dh100,000 for violators to protect energy resources and land use regulations.
The report also notes that the governments of El Salvador, Bhutan, Japan, Russia, and Iran are involved in or sponsoring Bitcoin mining in various ways. El Salvador adopted Bitcoin as its legal tender in 2021 and reversed course in 2025, but it still holds 7,517 BTC and has mined 474 BTC over the past three years using geothermal power from volcanoes.
In 2023, Bhutan revealed that it had been secretly mining Bitcoin since 2018, producing an estimated 55 to 75 BTC per week and using the proceeds to pay civil servants and fund public services. Ethiopia has agreements with international miners to tap surplus hydropower, while Iran legalized mining at the national level in 2019. But then it closed 100 illegal farms in 2025, and even legal operations regularly shut down during energy shortages.
Early Bitcoin miner sends 2,000 BTC to Coinbase
Parallel to state activity, on-chain data shows new activity by early miners. CryptoQuant's Julio Moreno reported that miners active during the “Satoshi era” moved around $181 million in Bitcoin, marking the first such activity by the group since November 2024, when BTC was trading near $91,000.
Satoshi-era miners moved 2,000 Bitcoin today, the first time this has happened since November 2024, when Bitcoin was around $91,000.
Historically, Satoshi-era miners would move Bitcoin at key inflection points. pic.twitter.com/cUKIM5uXL6
— Julio Moreno (@jjcmoreno) January 10, 2026
TimechainIndex founder Sani published blockchain data showing that miners managing funds across 40 Pay-to-Public-Key wallets transferred 2,000 BTC, raised from block rewards that have been dormant since 2010, to wallets associated with the Coinbase exchange.
Related: Eric Trump says US Bitcoin mining facilities are 'living proof' of cryptocurrencies
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