- Backed by Eric and Donald Trump Jr
- Says had talks with ADQ and Taqa
- Focus also on holding Bitcoin reserves
Bitcoin mining company American Bitcoin, backed by US President Donald Trump‘s sons Eric and Donald Trump Jr, says it has had discussions about expanding its cryptocurrency mining operations into the UAE.
The company is also focused on holding Bitcoin reserves.
“I’ve had conversations with [Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund] ADQ and with [Abu Dhabi-based global energy company] Taqa,” American Bitcoin CEO Mike Ho told AGBI on the sidelines of the Alternative Investment Summit in Dubai this week.
Crypto miners solve complex mathematical puzzles to verify and record cryptocurrency transactions on a public ledger.
Miners ensure the network functions and is secure, and earn rewards in the form of newly minted coins and transaction fees for keeping the ledger up to date. This involves running often large numbers of powerful computers that perform repeated calculations and is energy-intensive.
Cryptocurrency insights platform Arkham Intelligence, based in the Dominican Republic, revealed in August that the UAE has $700 million of bitcoins from mining.
Large mining farms – industrial-scale facilities housing thousands of powerful computer systems – can draw tens to hundreds of megawatts of power. A 100MW mining farm can power around 30,000 high-end miners, or generate enough electricity for up to 24,000 homes, according to a report by Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Energy.
“We’ve looked at the UAE [and it] has a ton of excess power and bitcoin mining is a great way to monetise that excess generation,” Ho said.
Data from the University of Cambridge showed that the UAE accounted for just over 2 percent of global bitcoin-mining activity in early 2025.
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American Bitcoin aims to position itself as a leading entity in the bitcoin mining and holding sector. It is 80 percent owned by energy and bitcoin mining company Hut 8 and 20 percent by the Trump brothers.
The company was listed on the Nasdaq in September after completing its merger with Gryphon Digital Mining. Its stock surged 110 percent on its debut day to $14.65, but has since experienced significant volatility and at the time of writing is almost 38 percent below the IPO price.
The UAE, and Dubai in particular, has one of the world’s most advanced policy regimes governing cryptocurrencies, helping it to become a hub of activity and entrepreneurship.
“We’re exploring more of the conversations around digital infrastructure and energy partners here,” said Ho, who praised the UAE’s “open-door approach to welcoming crypto”.
In March, Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund Mubadala invested $436 million in BlackRock’s bitcoin exchange-traded fund.
