Russia sets new record in crypto mining – Cryptopolitan
Cryptocurrency mining is on the rise in Russia, and the country now takes second place for total power capacity devoted to digital currency production. According to data provided by Bitriver, one of the country’s largest miners, a staggering 1 gigawatt (GW) was reached in the first three months of 2023.
The US continues to remain at the top with 3-4 GW of mining capacity available, while other countries such as Gulf Power (700 MW), Canada (400 MW), Malaysia (300 MW), Argentina (135 MW), Iceland (120 MW), Paraguay (100-125 MW) and Ireland (90 MW) make up the rest of the top ten list.
Kazakhstan’s policies helped Russia achieve the feat
Kazakhstan’s policy against cryptomining has also helped boost Russia’s positive trend. Recently introduced regulations saw an influx of miners leaving China after the industry’s collapse for cheaper costs in Kazakhstan.
Unfortunately, due to power shortages in Central Asia, authorities quickly began shutting down authorized mining data centers and illegal crypto farms, driving many miners back to Russian borders.
Unsurprisingly, rising electricity prices in the US, a drop in mining profitability and abolished tax incentives have slowed the US lead as the global leader in terms of hash rate share.
Igor Runets, CEO of Bitriver said that many over-leveraged US companies are now facing bankruptcy or have gone bankrupt as a result – including those that resort to buying equipment on credit.
The United States holds the top spot
Regulatory actions by the US government could also potentially trigger further market redistribution according to Roman Nekrasov, co-founder of the Encry Foundation which provides blockchain and technology innovation services. He believes these could lead to a new major shift among players in the mining market worldwide.
Meanwhile, BitRiver also reports that Russian crypto miners’ combined energy capacity exceeds 2.5 GW, which is double what research from August showed – when it was revealed that electricity consumption had increased 20 times in five years between 2017 and 2022.
This exponential growth is attributed to affordable energy supplies combined with cool climates such as the Irkutsk region, but further development largely depends on adequate legislation being passed by Moscow’s parliament – which has yet to happen.
