Cobalt supply dynamics just shifted in a meaningful way. The Democratic Republic of Congo—which controls over 70% of global cobalt production—has announced that miners can carry forward their 2025 export quotas into 2026. This policy adjustment matters more than it seems.

Why? Because cobalt is essential to battery manufacturing, semiconductor production, and the entire hardware infrastructure supporting blockchain nodes and crypto mining operations. When export policies change, it ripples through global supply chains. More flexibility in quota rollover could ease supply pressure and potentially stabilize prices for electronics and mining equipment manufacturers.

For the crypto ecosystem, tighter or looser commodity supply chains directly impact hardware costs—from ASIC miners to GPU availability to node infrastructure. When raw material flows get disrupted, equipment prices spike. This policy move suggests smoother supply continuity heading into 2026, which could help keep hardware costs more predictable.