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As the Bitcoin mining industry matures and faces both new opportunities and challenges, some companies are doubling down on international growth, sustainability, and strategic positioning. HIVE Digital Technologies is one of them.
CryptoPotato caught up with Aydin Kilic, CEO of HIVE Digital Technologies at Paris Blockchain Week 2025, to talk about the company’s bold expansion plans, how U.S. political shifts under Trump might reshape mining, and why Paraguay — not Texas — is where the company is putting its biggest bets.
International Mining Effort and Trump’s Impact on the Market
Hive has historically been known as a Canadian player. But as Kilic pointed out, the corporate center of gravity is shifting.
“We recently announced that our HQ is moving from Vancouver to San Antonio, but we still have the office in Vancouver,” Kilic shared. “We’ve been listed on NASDAQ since 2021, and being domiciled in the U.S. helps us qualify for U.S. indexes. That’s important for exposure and investor positioning.”
Yet despite the headline move, Kilic emphasized that their mining operations remain international. He said they’re not mining in the US, which spares them from the tariffs because they are not importing ASICs into the US.
When asked about the political landscape, especially under Trump, Kilic didn’t hesitate to connect the dots between policy and mining outcomes.
“Bitcoin shot up to all-time highs after Trump’s win — we saw $108,000 Bitcoin, which was phenomenal,” Kilic recalled. “There was a lot of excitement in the industry that his administration would bring in pro-Bitcoin, pro-mining policies.”
One symbolic moment stood out to him: Trump’s appearance at the Nashville Bitcoin conference. “It’s the first time ever that a presidential candidate, and now a president, has spoken at the Bitcoin conference,” Kilic said. “That signaled big things.”
Kilic introduced the concept of the American electro-dollar, a new framing for the U.S. dollar’s evolution.
“The U.S. dollar used to be backed by gold, then it became the petrodollar, backed by oil,” he explained. “But now, with Bitcoin emerging and America as a hub for mining — backed by energy — you have the American electro-dollar. I like it. I think it’s cool.”
Paraguay: Hive’s New Mining Powerhouse
While the U.S. draws attention, Hive’s real operational excitement is centered in South America.
“We expanded into Paraguay — 300 megawatts. Very exciting,” Kilic said with enthusiasm. “We just energized last week. We have about 1,000 machines running at 100 petahash, and we’re installing thousands more every week.”
By October, Hive expects to reach about 25 Exahash, representing roughly 3% of the global Bitcoin network.
What makes Paraguay so attractive? Kilic points to its renewable energy capacity.
“The Itaipu Dam is a 10.4 gigawatt hydro dam, and it feeds our site,” he explained. “We have two sites: one at 100 megawatts, one at 200 megawatts, for a total of 300 megawatts of hydro energy. It’s remarkable.”
But Hive’s local involvement isn’t just industrial. Kilic highlighted the company’s efforts to give back. He outlined that in the province of Cordillera, where their 100 megawatt site is located, there are 18 schools that need electricity. They’ve so far completed four of these and will be rolling more throughout 2025 and the following years – an initiative he describes as part of their sustainable model.
Cracking the ASIC Hardware Challenge
One of Hive’s more innovative moves has been its collaboration with Intel to produce custom ASIC miners, the BuzzMiners.
“We built 10,000 BuzzMiners — a hedge so we weren’t completely reliant on the big three: Bitmain, MicroBT, and Canaan,” Kilic explained.
Drawing on his background as an electrical engineer, Kilic approached the project with technical precision.
“We sent our own quality assurance lead to live in the factory town for two months,” he shared. “People don’t realize — it’s not just about the chip. You need system integration: ASIC on a PCB, power supply, control circuitry, thermodynamics. Easier said than done.”
Despite Intel eventually exiting the mining chip market, Hive made the project profitable.
“We’ve ROI’d on two of the three batches, and the machines are still mining today,” Kilic said. “We’re sending them to Paraguay now to mine through their full lifecycle.”
What’s Next: A Transformative Year Ahead
Looking at the road ahead, Kilic is bullish on Hive’s near-term trajectory. He said they are aiming for 25 Exahash, which represents four times (4x) growth, which, according to him, will push the company north of $1 billion market cap by scale.
He also expects the broader market to heat up once political and economic volatility settles.
“All the smart industry guys are hoping for an $80 to $120 hash price. We’re at about $40 now,” Kilic said. “Historically, after a halving event, the bull market drives hash price two to three times higher. We’re excited.”
Kilic plans to personally visit Paraguay multiple times over the coming months as new phases of their expansion go live.
Even amid global shifts and ambitious targets, Kilic remains grounded.
“I’ll always remain bullish on the U.S. as a jurisdiction to do business,” he said. “But for us right now, it’s all about Paraguay. It’s all about scale, renewable energy, and building for the future.”
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