JAKARTA The world's largest country, Russia, has recently reportedly become a leading cryptocurrency mining country on earth. In fact, Russia's ranking as a mining country has risen significantly to second place after the United States. This can be seen from the increasing amount of energy used for mining.
According to data from Russia's largest mining operator Bitriver, the energy capacity used to mine digital currencies in Russia has reached 1 gigawatt (GW) in the first three months of this year, making Russia move up to second in the world in terms of total energy capacity.
Meanwhile, the United States remains a leader in terms of crypto mining with 3 to 4 GW, as reported by Russia's business newspaper, Kommersant. Meanwhile, countries such as Gulf countries (700 MW), Canada (400 MW), Malaysia (300 MW), Argentina (135 MW), Iceland (120 MW), Paraguay (100-125 MW), Kazakhstan (100 MW), and Ireland (90 MW) were also recorded in the top 10.
Bitriver noted that the positive trend for Russia was related to reducing mining activities in Kazakhstan last year, where authorities have closed permitted mining data centers and cracked down illegal miners due to power shortages.
The power shortage in Central Asian countries is due to the entry of miners after China's termination of the industry. A law that limits miners' access to low-cost electricity and subsidies was enacted in February.
As reported by Bitcoin.com News, according to Bitriver CEO Igor Runets, the United States also leads in terms of a global share of hashrates. US market growth has slowed down due to rising electricity rates, reducing mining profitability, and eliminating tax incentives in some areas.
According to Alexander Brazhnikov, head of Russia's Association of Cryptoeconomics, Artificial Intelligence and Blockchain (Racib), the energy capacity of Russia's crypto mining sector may be higher than reported. He said that Russia uses about 800,000 ASIC miners, with combined power exceeding 2.5 GW.
Although the mining industry in Russia is growing rapidly thanks to its cheap energy resources and cool climate in areas such as Irkutsk, its future remains unclear in regulatory uncertainty. A bill designed to introduce rules for mining businesses still needs to be passed by parliament in Moscow.
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