France Aims to Dominate Bitcoin Mining Using Its Nuclear Energy Surplus

Move over, Texas—France is charging into the Bitcoin mining arena with an unexpected edge: cheap, abundant nuclear power.

Why burn excess energy when you can mint digital gold?

French officials are reportedly eyeing their surplus nuclear capacity—currently enough to power millions of homes—as a backdoor to becoming Europe’s crypto mining hub. The strategy? Leverage state-controlled energy giant EDF’s reactors to offer miners rates that’d make even Chinese farms jealous.

Nuclear-powered proof-of-work: The ultimate ‘green’ Bitcoin play?

Critics call it a desperate bid to prop up France’s aging reactors. Crypto bulls see genius—after all, why let perfectly good megawatts go to waste? One thing’s certain: Wall Street’s fossil-fueled mining plays just got some radioactive competition.

(And yes, we see the irony—the same country that brought you the ‘Tulip Bond’ now wants to bankroll blockchain.)

In Brief

• Members of Parliament propose using surplus electricity to power French Bitcoin mining farms.
• The project hopes to generate up to 150 million dollars annually from one gigawatt allocated.
• The law targets French companies located near power plants to revive existing industrial wastelands.
• Mining also allows recovery of heat to warm homes, greenhouses, or energy-intensive industrial sites.

The Surplus Bet: A French Strategy to Valorize Excess Electricity

While the debate around the future digital euro is already stirring European institutions, could France secretly prefer to bet on bitcoin? The idea may seem iconoclastic, but in, 72 deputies from the National Rally, accompanied by 4 colleagues from the Union of Rights for the Republic, have put forward an idea that is causing buzz in the assembly: using surplus electricity to mine bitcoin. And not marginally. It is aat centers located NEAR production sites.

“It is imperative to put an end to this absurd logic from a scientific and economic standpoint, and to valorize our electricity surpluses to stabilize the grid while preserving our nuclear park“, we read in the explanatory statement.

The calculation is simple: the, imposed by the production peaks of renewable energies, is costly to the infrastructure and results in. Why not turn this burden into a crypto-energy opportunity? bitcoin could well become the unexpected regulator of an electricity mix undergoing transformation.

Bitcoin, Europe, kilowatts: a proven model beyond borders

In Iceland, Norway, Sweden, and even Pakistan, mining has already taken root where surplus electricity was looking for buyers. The proposal’s arguments abundantly cite these foreign cases.

In, mining farms interconnect to theto shut down within minutes during demand peaks. In Finland, a 2 MW farm heats 11,000 homes through the heat released by the machines. In Norway, similar facilities warm aquaculture greenhouses. These examples are here, visible, audited.

As Clara Chappaz, the French Minister of Digital Affairs, points out:

The use of energy surplus to mine Bitcoin is a good example of a debate that has been hijacked by an extreme fringe of the political spectrum, while it is a real issue.

This debate, seemingly technical, becomes political as soon as it concerns, EDF’s debt, and reindustrialization. At this time, France does not yet have its large national mining farm. But that could well change.

When Bitcoin heats up ideas: towards a French-style crypto infrastructure?

The ambitions go beyond speculation. The bill envisions, reindustrialization of wastelands, local development, energy sovereignty, and the.

It is a complete reversal of logic: from consumers of poorly sold electricity to producers of digital value.

Some figures to remember:

• 1 gigawatt allocated to Bitcoin mining = 100 to 150 million $ per year, according to the Association for the Development of Digital Assets (ADAN);
• 70% of French electricity comes from nuclear: stable, predictable, decarbonized;
• 5 years of experimentation, governed by decree from the Council of State;
• 3 seconds: average shutdown or startup time of a mining rig, in response to grid voltage;
• 1 decree expected to define eligibility criteria and secure the operation.

Even the cautious Minister of Digital Affairs opens a door: “We must examine this without ideology, asking the right questions“.

The question remains whether the State will dare to flip the switch. Abandoned sites wait, kilowatts are there, foreign players are knocking at the door.

“Bitcoin made in France” is already on everyone’s lips. In Normandy, negotiations are well advanced with the Sultanate of Oman to establish the first industrial mining farm there. The Flamanville EPR and the future Penly power plant WOULD supply the energy. A page may be turning for French crypto.

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