UK comic and TV host Jimmy Carr recommended the British state ought to take into account mining bitcoin utilizing electrical energy that might in any other case go unused in a single day, framing the thought as a part of a broader push for extra “radical” desirous about public funds.
Will The UK Mine Bitcoin With Extra Vitality?
Carr made the feedback in a Dec. 11 TRIGGERnometry interview recorded on “the day of the price range,” the place he questioned why the UK has by no means created a sovereign wealth fund and argued that some revenue-generating belongings ought to be handled as collectively owned.
There are particular issues that ought to belong to everybody,” he mentioned, pointing to “the oil and gasoline that sit below the UK” and “the wind farms across the coast.” Carr claimed that “all of that cash goes to the Crown,” and requested why it should not accrue extra on to the general public.
He prolonged the argument to infrastructure corresponding to “cell phone masts,” whereas stressing that he wasn’t making a socialist case. “I am not a socialist. I am not even for state capitalism,” Carr mentioned, earlier than arguing that some belongings “ought to belong to everybody.”
From there, Carr supplied bitcoin mining as a concrete instance of a non-tax income lever the federal government may discover. “I would not thoughts it if our authorities mentioned, yeah, we will mine for Bitcoins,” he mentioned. “Our energy stations, they do not do something at night time, so we will mine for Bitcoins.” He added: “Nice. New gold customary. Nice.”
Jimmy Carr is the UK’s hottest comic and celeb. Carr says, “I’d not thoughts it if our authorities mines for bitcoins. Our energy stations do not do something at night time, so we will mine for bitcoins. Nice. New gold customary. Nice.” pic.twitter.com/GZRvQT8mua
— Documenting ₿itcoin 📄 (@DocumentingBTC) December 17, 2025
Carr didn’t suggest a proper coverage design, quote figures on spare capability, or handle governance questions round state-run mining. The purpose, as he introduced it, was directional: use underutilized nationwide infrastructure extra aggressively and cease treating taxation because the default reply to funding pressures. “Do one thing radical, one thing fascinating with the funds of the nation,” Carr mentioned. “Why does all of it have to come back from taxation?”
Whereas the remarks come from an entertainer relatively than a policymaker, the framing is notable for the way it positions bitcoin in a nation-state register: not solely as a tradable asset, however as one thing a authorities may plausibly produce utilizing extra power capability, then maintain in its place type of reserve worth.
Carr’s “mine with spare energy” concept has real-world analogues: Bhutan has quietly constructed a state-linked bitcoin mining operation powered largely by hydropower, a mannequin typically described as a method to monetize seasonal surplus era.
El Salvador has additionally leaned into the “extra power” narrative. The nation mined practically 474 BTC over roughly three years utilizing 1.5 MW of geothermal power from a state-owned plant tied to the Tecapa volcano. And in locations like Iceland, miners have lengthy been drawn by plentiful renewable provide (and the economics of low-cost, clear energy), making it probably the most mining-dense jurisdictions globally.
At press time, BTC traded at $87,113.
Featured picture created with DALL.E, chart from TradingView.com
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