Nasdaq-listed Bitcoin mining company BitFuFu is evaluating the termination of its planned acquisition of an 80-megawatt (MW) mining facility in Ethiopia. The potential exit comes in the wake of an escalating dispute between the site’s current operator and its local electricity supplier, threatening to unravel the company’s strategic expansion into East Africa.
In a corporate update issued on October 13, BitFuFu confirmed that critical closing conditions for the transaction remain unmet and the deal has not been completed. The original agreement, first announced on October 22, 2024, outlined BitFuFu’s intention to acquire a majority stake in the entity that owns and operates the Ethiopian facility. As part of the initial agreement, BitFuFu had already paid $4.1 million to the sellers and deployed approximately 13,700 Bitmain Antminer S19-series machines to the site, representing 1.57 exahashes per second (EH/s) of computing power. As of September 30, the net book value of those deployed machines stood at $1.74 million.
The transaction hit a major hurdle on September 28 when the local electricity supplier issued a ten-day ultimatum to the facility’s operator, demanding payment for disputed amounts and threatening to seize pledged equipment and assets if the debt remained unpaid. BitFuFu noted that, to its knowledge, the outstanding amounts remained unpaid at the time of its mid-October update.
Although BitFuFu is not a direct party to the power dispute between the operator and the electricity vendor, the conflict has disrupted operations and imperiled the transaction. Consequently, the company is now considering several corrective measures, including terminating the acquisition agreement, initiating arbitration proceedings against the sellers, pursuing the recovery of its $4.1 million in payments, and securing the immediate return of its mining hardware.
Despite the operational friction, BitFuFu executive leadership remains confident that the disruption will not severely impact overall business operations. BitFuFu Chief Executive Officer Leo Lu stated that local power curtailment at the site had already been factored into previous financial and operational results, meaning any additional impact on production should be limited. “We believe this event’s incremental impact on the company will be minimal,” Lu stated.
The Ethiopian acquisition was originally positioned as a major strategic milestone for BitFuFu. At the time of the initial announcement, the company framed the deal as a pivot away from relying primarily on third-party hosting providers toward owning and operating its own dedicated infrastructure. BitFuFu highlighted the location’s highly competitive energy prices—quoting power costs below $0.04 per kilowatt-hour (kWh)—and identified the facility as a prime candidate for future expansion. The firm estimated it could add an additional 4.6 EH/s of hashrate to its operations by upgrading the site with newer, higher-efficiency Bitmain S21-series machines.
The project had also been framed as a core component of BitFuFu’s sustainability and geographic diversification efforts. In subsequent updates, including a July 2025 announcement, the company highlighted the Ethiopian facility’s reliance on regional hydropower resources, aligning with its broader green energy initiative. Moving into East Africa was designed to balance BitFuFu’s infrastructure footprint, which historically has been heavily concentrated in North America.
The complications in Ethiopia follow other recent infrastructure moves by the company. In February 2025, BitFuFu announced an agreement to acquire a majority stake in a 51MW mining site located in Oklahoma. That facility, which relies on air-cooled containerized infrastructure and has been operational since 2022, was secured at a valuation of approximately $400,000 per megawatt, with reported electricity rates around $0.03 per kWh.
While the Oklahoma facility expanded BitFuFu’s domestic operational base in the United States, the Ethiopian project was intended to serve as the flagship asset for its international growth. With the acquisition now stalled and potential arbitration looming, BitFuFu faces a pivot in its international infrastructure roadmap as it seeks to recover its capital and protect its deployed assets.
