The cost of mining Bitcoin in South Africa vs other countries

Elite Fixtures has published a report detailing the cost of mining a Bitcoin in 115 countries across the world based on average residential electricity prices.

According to the International Business Times, which published the group’s data, the consumption required to mine a Bitcoin was averaged from three different mining rigs — the AntMiner S7, the AntMiner S9, and the Avalon 6.

Elite Fixtures sourced its electricity price data provided by the government, and local utility companies, as well as the International Energy Agency, the IBTimes said.

According to the data, Venezuela was named as the cheapest place in the world to mine a single Bitcoin – $530. This was followed by Trinidad and Tobago ($1,190), and Uzbekistan ($1,790).

Traditionally Western European countries such as Belgium, Denmark and Germany are some of the most expensive countries to mine a Bitcoin while, Asia and Eastern Europe are some of the cheapest – with the exception of South Korea which is the most expensive country on the list at $26,170.

South Africa is considered slightly more expensive than average, costing $5,948 (R71,328) for a single coin.

Taking the current (29 January 2018) Bitcoin price of R139,625, and the current dollar exchange rate, the average local miner therefore currently walks away with around R68,000, on balance.

Read: Bitcoin vs Ethereum vs Litecoin – what Vinny Lingham is looking to buy, sell and hold