Hive Co-Founder Links Sanctions to Bitcoin Mining

Countries under US sanctions are covertly engaging in bitcoin mining to access financial flows, according to Hive Digital co-founder Frank Holmes during a podcast with TheStreet.

He noted that the decline in June of the hash rate and difficulty of the leading cryptocurrency by 15% followed airstrikes on Iran by Israeli and US forces.

“Why? Because the Iranian military was essentially illegally mining bitcoins to obtain US dollars, and the power plants were affected,” he concluded.

According to him, this is not limited to the Middle Eastern country. Holmes also pointed out that the governments of such states are not associated with crypto-friendly policies.

“They do everything possible, and when they can’t get dollars, they start mining bitcoins,” Holmes emphasized.

When asked by host Scott Melker how many jurisdictions are secretly involved in this, the executive chairman of Hive replied:

“This will come to light and become a significant source of revenue for the ‘Axis of Evil.’ There is no doubt about it.”

According to Hashrate Index, at the beginning of 2025, the US dominated bitcoin’s hash rate with a 38% share. Russia accounted for 16%, while Iran’s share was between 1-2%.

Melker also inquired about Hive’s declared strategy of retaining mined coins. Holmes confirmed that the company adheres to this policy but does not shy away from selling digital gold to expand its business. For instance, part of the reserves was liquidated to acquire mining capacities from Bitfarms in Paraguay.

Holmes noted that this resulted in increased coin production. In dollar terms, Hive’s revenue is approximately $760,000 per day and is expected to grow to $3 million as the hash rate increases, he added.

According to BitcoinTreasuries, the company holds 2201 BTC.

Earlier, analysts at JPMorgan described July as a successful month for public bitcoin miners — their revenue per 1 EH/s reached the highest level since the last halving.