Deutsche Telekom, the parent company of major U.S. telco T-Mobile, is set to enter the Bitcoin mining arena. Dirk Röder, Head of Web3 infrastructure and solutions at T-Mobile’s Telekom MMS, made the announcement during the BTC Prague conference last week. When asked if T-Mobile is planning to mine Bitcoin, Röder confirmed, “We will.”
This news comes amid a volatile period for the mining sector, which has seen the highs of the 2021 bull market, the lows of the subsequent crypto winter, and the latest halving that reduced Bitcoin rewards by half.
Röder did not provide details on the location or scale of the mining operations. The entry of a corporation as large as Deutsche Telekom into Bitcoin mining could have significant effects on the industry, both positive and potentially negative.
Deutsche Telekom has been actively involved in the digital assets sector for years. The company operates validators on several networks including Polygon, Q, Flow, Celo, Chainlink, and Ethereum. Last year, Deutsche Telekom launched the Energy Web Chain, described as “the world’s first public blockchain designed explicitly for the energy sector,” aimed at fostering a more decentralized, digitalized, and decarbonized energy system.
Additionally, Röder mentioned that since 2023, Deutsche Telekom has been running both a Bitcoin node and Lightning nodes. This involvement has been seen as a positive development within the Bitcoin mining community. T-Mobile, with a market cap exceeding $200 billion, participating in Bitcoin mining is seen as enhancing the network’s security. However, it also raises concerns about increased competition for existing miners already dealing with a challenging market environment.
T-Mobile’s foray into Web3 has not been without issues. The company has faced several lawsuits related to “SIM swapping” attacks that affected customers of both T-Mobile and its competitor AT&T.
