Angola Crypto Mining Ban as of April 2024: What Happened and Why It Matters

Before April 2024, Angola was one of the biggest Bitcoin mining countries in Africa - maybe even the biggest. Factories full of humming machines, powered by cheap electricity, were churning out new coins around the clock. Then, out of nowhere, the government shut it all down. Not with a warning. Not with a tax. With a full ban. And not just a small one - this was a law that could land you in prison for up to 12 years.

What Exactly Did Angola Ban?

On April 10, 2024, Angola passed Law No. 3/24, a sweeping ban on all cryptocurrency mining activities. It didn’t just stop people from running mining rigs. It made it illegal to use any electrical system - even your home power - to mine Bitcoin or any other digital currency. The law also banned connecting any mining equipment to the national grid. That includes everything from single ASIC miners to giant warehouse-scale operations.

The law defines mining clearly: it’s the process of solving complex math problems to validate transactions and add them to the blockchain. That’s the core work that keeps Bitcoin running. And now, doing that inside Angola is a criminal act.

Even owning the equipment can get you jailed. If you have a mining rig sitting in your garage, warehouse, or basement after April 10, you could face one to five years in prison - and the government will seize everything. No exceptions. No gray areas.

Why Did Angola Do This?

The answer is simple: the lights were going out.

Angola has long struggled with unreliable electricity. Millions of people live in areas where power cuts are routine. Hospitals, schools, and small businesses can’t count on steady energy. But in late 2023, something strange happened. Angola jumped to the eighth-largest Bitcoin mining country in the world - ahead of most of Europe. And the reason? Chinese mining companies moved there after China banned crypto in 2021.

These operations didn’t just use electricity - they devoured it. Some mining farms were drawing as much power as small towns. Utility companies couldn’t keep up. Power plants were running flat out, and still, there wasn’t enough to go around. People were left in the dark for hours. Factories shut down. Refrigerators spoiled food. Children studied by candlelight.

The government didn’t see this as innovation. They saw it as theft - of a resource that should be used for people, not for profit.

The Crackdown: What Happened After the Ban?

The ban didn’t just sit on paper. Within months, the government moved.

In August 2024, Interpol teamed up with Angolan police in a massive operation. They raided 25 illegal mining facilities. Most were run by Chinese nationals - over 60 people were arrested. The seized equipment? More than $37 million worth. ASIC miners, cooling systems, power converters - all of it confiscated.

The government didn’t melt it down or sell it off. Instead, they announced plans to redistribute the equipment to public services. Schools, clinics, and community centers in underserved areas would get new generators, solar panels, and power backups. It wasn’t just punishment - it was restitution.

Meanwhile, the Chinese Embassy in Angola had already warned its citizens: stop mining. The law is real. The penalties are real. And if you’re caught, you won’t get a second chance.

Who Got Hit the Hardest?

It wasn’t just foreign miners. Local entrepreneurs who invested in mining rigs - some with loans, some with savings - lost everything. A few had set up small operations in rural areas, thinking they could profit from cheap power and high coin prices. Now, their equipment is gone. Their money is gone. And some are facing criminal charges.

Even tech startups that were experimenting with blockchain for local payments got caught in the crossfire. While the law doesn’t ban owning Bitcoin or using crypto wallets, the fear of being accused of mining made banks and service providers nervous. Many froze accounts. Some shut down entirely.

Was the Law Flawed?

Yes - legally, it had problems.

Legal experts from CMS Law Firm pointed out a technical error in the law’s penalty section. The articles that define punishments for companies were misnumbered. That could create confusion in court. Judges might not know which penalty applies. It’s a small mistake, but in a law this strict, even a typo can cause chaos.

Also, the law doesn’t clearly define what counts as “mining.” Does running a node count? What about validating transactions on a personal wallet? These questions are still unanswered. That uncertainty makes it hard for people to know if they’re breaking the law - even if they’re trying to stay legal.

What About Other African Countries?

Angola didn’t act alone. Neighboring Zambia cracked down on fake crypto investment scams that tricked 65,000 people into losing $300 million. Nigeria, Kenya, and South Africa are all tightening rules around crypto exchanges and advertising. But Angola is the only one so far to ban mining outright - and enforce it with prison time.

That’s why the world is watching. If Angola can shut down mining without collapsing its economy, other energy-strapped countries might follow. If it fails, it could become a cautionary tale.

What’s the Bigger Picture?

Angola’s ban isn’t about hating Bitcoin. It’s about survival.

Most countries that ban crypto do it because they fear losing control over money. Angola banned it because it couldn’t keep the lights on.

This is a new kind of crypto regulation - not ideological, not financial. It’s practical. It’s physical. It’s about who gets to use the power grid when the system is already stretched thin.

Before the ban, Angola mined more Bitcoin than Germany. After the ban, its share of the global network dropped to near zero. That’s a huge shift. But for millions of Angolans, it meant the difference between having electricity for cooking dinner - or not.

What’s Next?

Right now, the mining ban is holding. No new operations have surfaced. The seized equipment is being repurposed. The government hasn’t backed down.

But crypto doesn’t disappear just because a law says so. Underground mining could still be happening - hidden in basements, disguised as data centers, powered by stolen grid connections. The real test will be whether the government can keep monitoring and enforcing the ban over the long term.

For now, Angola’s message is clear: when your people are going without power, you don’t let machines take it.