THE bitcoin miners fled china after a decision to ban this activity in 2021. Two years later, some analysts argue that the United States is about to make the same mistakes again of its biggest rival. And it also benefits another competing country, Russia.
Russia, new Eldorado for BTC miners?
Last April, BitRiver updated the ranking of top ten countries dominating the bitcoin mining industry. Against all expectations, Russia rose to second place because of ” favorable climate “.
First, there is China, which martyred the bitcoin mining industry in 2021. It cost it a mining of the Top 10 BTC miners. Then there is Kazakhstan, which copied and pasted the approach of the Chinese leaders, in 2022. And finally, we will note the difficulties currently facing BTC miners from the United States.
“ Regulatory repression and taxation in the United States have made Russia highly competitive in the bitcoin mining industry, poised to become the only country capable of substantially accelerating hashrate growth, according to the chief operating officer of Luxor Technologies, EthanVera. »
There taxation of activities related to bitcoin mining is part of the plans of theBiden administration. Fred Thiel, CEO of Marathon Digital, has already spoken on the subject. He said such a move will drive actors out of the United States.
And if this tax is applied, guess which country will do well: Russia.
Not only the country of Vladminir Putin has a myriad of assets, but also the president himself is conducive to bitcoin mining. And he is not against consensual regulation of cryptos.
The growing industry
Recently, CoinDesk granted an article on therise of the bitcoin mining industry in Russia. Ethan Vera, COO of Luxor Technologies, mentioned a large influx of BTC mining machine in the country.
Russia has as assets its relatively low electricity costs, especially in Irkutsk, Krasnoyarsk and Sverdlovsk. And also, it has a cold climate. Indeed, the low Russian temperatures minimize the expenses related to the cooling of the machines.
Hit by a multitude of sanctions, Russia is diversifying its parachutes. Among them is bitcoin mining, although it already forms a powerhouse in terms of BTC hash rate.
David Carlisle, vice president of regulatory policy at Elliptic, clarified that the “ sanctions targeting Russia do not completely prohibit involvement in the mining sector “. However, he cited the existence of ” significant risks for companies operating in this increasingly isolated country for the invasion of Ukraine.
Bitmain and MicroBT can rejoice in the revenue made in installing equipment for this state, but they must not forget the sword of Damocles hanging over their heads.
Moreover, some companies cannot trade with sanctioned entities at this time. The United States has already hit BitRiver by penalties. This has demotivated other companies specializing in bitcoin mining machines from doing business with the Russians.
It seems very likely to us that the ranking will include major changes next year. Because with this momentum, the Russians will not let themselves be demotivated by the possible falls of the ruble.
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