Bitcoin Is Eating the World: Why Nations Are Now Racing to Mine, Trade, and Settle in BTC
From Pakistan to Paris, from oil to electricity, Bitcoin is no longer just an investment. It’s becoming the money behind global power moves.
Bitcoin Isn’t a Meme Anymore, It’s a Monetary Revolution
To your neighbour, Bitcoin might still sound like a scam, a Ponzi, or some “magic internet money” from Reddit. But globally, something much bigger is happening. Countries, corporations, energy producers, and even geopolitical rivals are starting to realize that Bitcoin isn’t just an asset, it’s infrastructure. And this shift is picking up serious momentum.
Let’s start with Pakistan, which has recently turned to Bitcoin mining as a national strategy to monetize surplus electricity. That’s right, instead of wasting energy, they’re capturing it in digital gold. Even more surprising? Binance founder CZ has reportedly joined Pakistan’s Crypto Council as a strategic adviser. That’s a strong signal.
But why Bitcoin? Why not Ethereum or any other coin? Because Ethereum moved to proof of stake, effectively surrendering its position as a decentralized, energy-backed commodity. Bitcoin remains the only truly neutral, proof-of-work digital asset, and it’s the only one that’s battle-tested at scale.
With Ethereum out of the picture, Bitcoin’s competition is weak. Dogecoin? A meme. Bitcoin Cash? A failed fork. There’s now no real contender for what Bitcoin is becoming: the digital equivalent of oil or gold, but way faster, lighter, and harder to stop.
From Sanctions to Settlements: The Global Pivot Toward Bitcoin
We’re seeing an accelerating trend of dedollarization, especially in response to U.S. sanctions and the weaponization of trade. A report by VanEck’s Matthew Sigel highlights this clearly:
“The weaponization of trade and financial infrastructure continues to drive interest in neutral settlement rails”.
Translation? If you can’t use the dollar without risk of getting shut out of the financial system, you start looking for something else, and that “something else” is increasingly Bitcoin.
Already, China and Russia are reportedly settling energy trades in Bitcoin and other digital assets. France’s EDF is exploring how to mine Bitcoin with excess electricity. Bolivia wants to import electricity using crypto.
We’re seeing a growing chorus of countries quietly building the scaffolding for a post-dollar economy, and Bitcoin is the neutral settlement layer at the heart of it.
The Real Turning Point Was 2022, And Nobody Noticed
Remember when the U.S. froze Russia’s foreign currency reserves after the invasion of Ukraine? That was a huge moment. The world saw, in real time, that your assets aren't really yours if they're held in the U.S. banking system. If Uncle Sam doesn’t like what you're doing, your dollars, treasuries, and Swift access can vanish overnight.
That single act did more to boost Bitcoin’s global legitimacy than 10 years of conferences and podcasts.
Russia’s Oil-for-Bitcoin Strategy Is Real
A Reuters report from March 2025 revealed that Russian oil companies are now settling trades using Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Tether to get around sanctions. And while ETH and USDT are temporarily useful, they’re not reliable long-term. Tether can be frozen by U.S. authorities. Ethereum keeps losing ground to Bitcoin. Only Bitcoin offers the combination of neutrality, liquidity, and security that geopolitics demands.
Bitcoin is becoming the Swiss bank of the internet, permissionless, borderless, and censorship-resistant.
Proof-of-Work or Bust: Why Bitcoin Has No Real Rivals
Bitcoin’s proof-of-work model is often criticized for its energy use. But that’s exactly what makes it work. Proof-of-stake? It just recreates the fiat system: centralized, manipulable, and permissioned. Bitcoin, on the other hand, is a scarce, mined, unforgeable digital commodity. It’s the real deal.
Unlike gold, which is slow and physical, Bitcoin settles in minutes, globally. That makes it the perfect reserve asset for the 21st century's digital trade routes.
Final Thoughts: Bitcoin Is Becoming Inevitable
Whether the U.S. likes it or not, Bitcoin is quietly replacing the dollar as the global neutral asset of choice. Trump, perhaps unwittingly, is making Bitcoin a national priority. The Biden administration doesn’t seem to grasp the long-term consequences of financial weaponization. Either way, nations are adapting. And fast.
As Satoshi Nakamoto once said:
“It might make sense just to get some in case it catches on.”
Well, it’s catching on.
And the world’s smartest players, from nations with nukes to utilities with megawatts, are already positioning for the next monetary paradigm.
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That image looks cool. Giving me ideas for my book cover.