HIVE Digital co-founder Frank Holmes says sanctioned countries like Iran are secretly mining Bitcoin
Hive Digital (Nasdaq: HIVE) co-founder Frank Holmes said that several countries, including those under sanctions, may be secretly mining Bitcoin to generate revenue — and hinted at how geopolitics is shaping global mining operations.
'You talk about the fact that you hodl your Bitcoin, which for those who are listening means basically, hold on for dear life,' TheStreet Roundtable host Scott Melker said, pointing out Hive's long-term BTC strategy. Holmes affirmed that commitment — with one caveat.
'Yes, we believe that purchasing power is so important to have and we will hold on and hold on as much Bitcoin as we can,' Holmes said. 'Sometimes we've had to sell... like how we quadrupled basically our profile at Paraguay because Bitfarms was selling so we could fast track. So we had to sell some Bitcoin to do that.'Still, Holmes sees the value returning through boosted production. 'It's like seven hundred and sixty thousand a day in revenue and it's going to a million three as we increase our production.'
'Axis of Evil' mining Bitcoin, Holmes alleges
He also revealed that Bitcoin mining is being used by governments not typically associated with crypto-friendly policies — citing a striking example.
'When Israel bombed Iran and America came in and dropped the B2 special bombs, the difficulty for Bitcoin mining fell by 15%,' Holmes said. 'Why is that? Because the Iranian military were basically illegally mining Bitcoin to get US dollars and the power stations got hit.'
That connection between global conflict and hash rate drop reveals, Holmes said, a deeper trend: 'All these other countries are doing everything if they can't get US dollars, they're going to mine Bitcoin.'
Melker then asked: 'Do you think that a lot of nations are mining Bitcoin that we haven't heard about yet?'
'Yes, I do,' Holmes replied. 'It'll come out and it's a large source of revenue for the Axis of Evil. There's no doubt about that.'He added that under Trump, Bitcoin mining in America is only expected to grow — especially with allies like Paraguay. 'Paraguay is pro-America... very different than Colombia... or Venezuela,' Holmes said. 'We're excited to be in a country that is aligned with America's vision.'
As of this week, Hive Digital surpassed 14 EH/s in Bitcoin mining capacity, generating $315 million in annualized revenue. It now aims to hit 25 EH/s by Thanksgiving — a move that could place it among the most efficient Bitcoin miners globally.
EH/s stands for exahashes per second, a measure of computing power used in Bitcoin mining. One exahash equals 1 quintillion (1,000,000,000,000,000,000) hashes per second. The higher the EH/s, the more powerful the miner — and the better their chances of earning Bitcoin block rewards.
HIVE Digital co-founder Frank Holmes says sanctioned countries like Iran are secretly mining Bitcoin first appeared on TheStreet on Aug 1, 2025
This story was originally reported by TheStreet on Aug 1, 2025, where it first appeared.
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