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Matthew Sigel, the head of VanEck’s Digital Assets Research, said on February 16, 2026, that at least 13 sovereign governments are currently mining Bitcoin as part of their national strategies to build up their digital asset holdings. The news signals a big change in how governments see Bitcoin. They now see it as a strategic asset that can be made at home utilising extra energy resources, not only as a way to make money.
Sigel said during a market update that these countries are using their own energy resources, like hydropower, geothermal, and stranded natural gas, to make Bitcoin instead of buying it on the open market. With this method, governments can build up their BTC without having to rely just on their foreign exchange reserves or risk having to pay the market price.
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VanEck didn’t release the whole list of 13 countries, but it’s well known that a few of them have state-backed or state-supported mining programs.
El Salvador is still the most obvious example. The government has been using geothermal energy from volcanoes to fuel national mining operations since it made Bitcoin legal tender in 2021. The project has made hundreds of BTC, which are kept in the national treasury and used to pay for public works.
Bhutan has quietly put together one of the best sovereign mining programs in the world. The kingdom has turned extra electricity into Bitcoin by using a lot of hydropower capacity, which is often more than the country’s needs. This has made a lot of money from a resource that was not being used to its full potential.
Other countries that are said to have active or growing state-linked mining operations include:
- UAE
- Oman
- Kazakhstan
- Russia
- China (via businesses linked to the government)
- Germany
- Malaysia
Most of the time, governments either run facilities themselves or work with energy corporations and tech businesses to use stranded or extra power. The model changes energy resources that weren’t very valuable into digital reserves that can be stored forever or used in a smart way.
Strategic Benefits of Sovereign Mining
VanEck points out a few long-term benefits that are behind this trend:
- Energy monetisation — Countries that have too much or stranded energy can turn it into an asset that can be used anywhere in the world and is easy to divide without having to develop expensive transmission infrastructure or compete in unstable international energy markets.
- Reserve diversification — Bitcoin mining is a different way to build up reserves that doesn’t depend on traditional foreign exchange markets or central bank policies.
- Economic resilience — Making your own Bitcoin protects you from currency devaluation, sanctions, or capital controls, which is especially important for developing and frontier countries.
- Geopolitical optionality — Direct production lessens dependence on foreign custodians or open-market acquisitions, giving countries more sovereignty over their digital assets.
The idea also fits with the larger interest of governments in blockchain technology. Some of the same countries that are looking into Bitcoin mining are also looking into tokenised securities, central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), and blockchain-based identities or supply-chain systems.
The world around us and how it competes
The rise of sovereign mining shows that more and more countries are realising that Bitcoin is no longer just a speculative asset for individuals. As central banks and sovereign wealth funds buy more cryptocurrency directly or mine it, the rivalry for hashrate and energy resources is getting stronger.
This trend started after the US set up a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve in March 2025. The reserve’s goal is to keep seized Bitcoin and find ways to accumulate it without spending any money. Even if the U.S. hasn’t started mining Bitcoin yet, the fact that it is now officially recognised as a strategic asset has pushed other countries to speed up their own plans.
The change also shows that national strategies are not the same. Some countries, including El Salvador and Bhutan, have welcomed the use of Bitcoin and mining in public. Others follow more private, government-run programs that focus on building up reserves and making the best use of energy.
Conclusion
VanEck’s announcement that at least 13 sovereign nations are actively mining Bitcoin shows how people’s views on the asset have changed around the world. Governments are treating what started as a decentralised experiment in 2009 more and more like a strategic resource. They want to make money off of energy surpluses, diversify their reserves, and make their economies more resilient.
The trend is still new, but it’s apparent that Bitcoin mining is moving from being mostly a private sector activity to one that the government is involved in on purpose. The struggle for hashrate, cheap power, and mining infrastructure will only get worse as more countries turn extra energy into digital wealth.
Sovereign mining creates a new layer of long-term demand that doesn’t depend on typical capital market flows for investors and anyone who watch the market. It is yet unclear if this change will make Bitcoin a stronger global reserve asset or create new ways for centralisation to happen. It is no longer in dispute that nation-states see Bitcoin as more than just an investment opportunity. They also see it as a strategic capability that is worth producing in their own countries.
