Russia Looks to Bolster its Bitcoin & Crypto Mining Industry Amid War in Ukraine
Russia appears keen to foster its Bitcoin (BTC) and crypto mining sector – and appears to have assured miners that sanctions, imposed due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, will not impede their ability to continue mining tokens. However, the long legal struggle for legalization is continuing – despite the intervention of some of the nation’s most senior politicians.
Regnum reported that Oleg Ogiyenko, a director at Bitriver, the “largest operator of crypto mining data processing centers in Eurasia,” had announced that “supplies of equipment for cryptocurrency mining to Russia” would “not be suspended.”
Ogiyenko claimed that international sanctions would “in no way affect the import of mining equipment” – although the logistics used to import mining rigs and other hardware “may” be subject to “change.”
Tass, which also reported on the development, stated that the Bitriver executive was speaking at the “first-ever” meeting of “all-Russian legal cryptocurrency miners” – something of an oxymoron as crypto mining still does not have legal status in Russia.
At the event, Ogiyenko unveiled Bitriver’s plans to open a new “data center” – likely a crypto mining farm – in the Irkutsk region.
Ogiyenko was quoted as explaining that the center would have a “capacity of more than 80 MW,” and would provide at least 63 jobs in Ust-Ilimsk and “nearby areas.”
He also claimed that “customers from various countries” would be able to install their “equipment” in the new facility, including those “from Russia, Asian countries,” as well as “European countries, and the USA, perhaps” – possibly eyeing a post-conflict world.
The center is expected to open sometime this year.
Meanwhile, Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin has told fellow lawmakers that
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