Despite the turbulence due in particular to soaring energy prices, bitcoin miners in Russia persist in their business. In a strategic approach, these players in the sector plan to inject a colossal sum of 4 billion dollars, a sign of their concrete aspirations.
Russian crypto miners ready to invest $4 billion
Despite the economic sanctions, Russia under Putin does not correspond to the idyllic image described by Tucker Carlson. Despite this, the recently re-elected government, with landslide 87% victory in elections this weekend, is making considerable efforts. Ratification of laws on cryptocurrencies and CBDCs, adoption of blockchain technologies, expansion in the bitcoin mining sector… so many strategies to maintain technological leadership and its position among the richest countries on the planet.
At an event in Irkutsk, Siberia, representatives of the Russian cryptocurrency mining industry announced a potential investment of 4 billion dollars. However, according to the SIA media, this project could be compromised if new prohibitive energy tariffs are imposed by Moscow, underlines CryptoNews.
Director of the Russian Industrial Mining Association (IPM), Sergei Bezdelov, said the investment was aimed at develop new data centers (“data centers”)not only to mine cryptocurrencies, but also to support the government’s data economy project.
Bezdelov stressed that these centers could offer space to the government for its project, also providing energy capacities and maintenance personnelpotentially save up to $32.4 million. This initiative could be a way for miners to dissuade Moscow from increasing energy prices, which they currently face.
Downside: A rising electricity bill
In Irkutsk, the Russian Energy Ministry plans toincrease electricity rates for crypto miners, in order to relieve the pressure on the networks. This initiative is worrying as the region has become a pillar of the Russian mining industry.
Sergei Sasim of the Electric Power Industry Research Center supports the move, saying it will discourage new entrants and limit the expansion of existing players. However, despite warnings about energy deficits, Sasim reassures that the Russian energy system will remain generally in surplus.
Irkutsk, home to a quarter of the country’s crypto mining industry, hopes, according to Bezdelov, to take advantage of the legalization of the sector to generate more tax revenue.
Bitcoin: An economic weapon for Russia?
Russian bitcoin miners see mining as an opportunity to circumvent sanctions. Dmitry Zuev of NGE Farm believes this could create a source of decentralized international liquidity. Already, some Russian companies are using cryptos to evade sanctions, while BitRiver is investing millions in new mining centers.
This strategy is part of a context where more and more Russian families emigrate to Latin America to escape the war in Ukraine and its economic repercussions.
With inflation forecasts falling and future profitability of BTC mining looking greater in Russia than in the United States, cryptos could become a key tool in Russia’s economic struggle.
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