Trump’s Support for “Nuclear AI Development”: Potential Impact on Bitcoin Mining

Trump supports nuclear energy to develop AI
In the interview, Trump explained that the United States needs a lot of electricity to support the development of the AI ​​industry. He pointed out that other forms of renewable energy such as wind and solar energy have inherent deficiencies in supplying electricity, and emphasized the importance of staying ahead in the global AI development race:

We will create a lot of electricity for the country, which will enable AI to compete. You are right, no matter who gets this advantage, this will become a huge competitive force, you know, this will become the oil of the future.

Trump added that nuclear energy is now very good and very safe, and we can build smaller nuclear power plants and then connect them together.

Another New York governor who supports nuclear energy, Kathy Hochul, said nuclear energy could help New York fill the gaps in its climate plan first released in 2019, allowing the state to meet its 2030 climate goals.

In fact, Trump and Hochul are not the only ones interested in nuclear power. In August, Poland allocated $1.2 billion to build the country’s first nuclear power plant; Swedish officials are also considering a plan to invest $28.5 billion to fund nuclear reactors nationwide; the Chinese government has also approved a similar plan to spend $31 billion to build 11 new nuclear reactors.

Impact on Miners
What impact will the US have on Bitcoin miners if it switches to nuclear power?

We know that energy costs account for the largest proportion of mining costs. According to a report by cloud mining company Bitfufu, the average cost of mining a single Bitcoin has risen to $51,887 in the second quarter of 2024, and 11 mining companies are at risk of losses if the Bitcoin price falls below $40,000.

In addition, Bitcoin (BTC) miners often look for alternative, novel and underutilized energy sources to power their mining activities, such as converting excess natural gas from oil fields that would otherwise be wasted into electricity, or using volcanic geothermal energy to mine Bitcoin.

According to SMR Nuclear (see figure below), a nuclear power plant can generate 441,398,880 megawatt-hours (MWh) of energy over its entire life cycle, which is far more than wind and solar power. In addition, the capital expenditure of nuclear power is $16.54/MWh, which is much lower than wind power’s $46.45/MWh and solar power’s $74.07/MWh. Therefore, nuclear power provides nearly unlimited energy and has lower capital expenditures than wind, solar and other renewable energy sources. This will greatly reduce the cost of Bitcoin mining.

Reducing the huge energy costs associated with mining may allow smaller individual miners to have the opportunity to successfully mine blocks, making the mining industry more democratized and decentralized.