Russian bitcoin miners used 1.25 GW to power their facilities last year, double the amount used in 2020 – report

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Russian bitcoin (BTC) miners reportedly used a whopping 1.25 gigawatts (GW) of electrical energy to power their operations in 2021, nearly double what they did in 2020 – as the industry continues to expand in the country.

Per Novie Izvetiya, Intelion data systems Experts have calculated that altcoin mining efforts may have consumed as much as 0.625 GW of electricity over the past year.

The experts added that since 2017, the annual increase in electricity consumption for crypto mining in Russia has been trending upwards by at least 150% per year.

In 2020, Russia-based BTC miners consumed 0.728 GW to fuel their mining efforts.

Large-scale crypto miners account for between 40% and 45% of Russia’s total BTC mining activity, and experts argue that this number is likely to increase rapidly in the future.

Oil producers like the majority state-owned Gazprom Neft are already expanding pilot projects that allow miners to power their drilling rigs with associated gas at oil well sites. A facility in the Khanty-Mansi region has been remodeled to run hundreds of mining rigs in parallel with oil pumps, while the head of a major Russian gas industry group is touting crypto mining as “an opportunity to monetize cheap electricity where there is one.” surplus or when the cost of generating electricity is higher than market prices.”

Big industrial companies have urged Moscow to legalize their industries, even if it means tax bills and higher electricity tariffs. And the Ministry of Finance is extremely keen to do so – believing the extra tax revenue could give Treasury coffers a much-needed boost. The ministry hopes to push through the necessary legislation when lawmakers return to a new session of the State Duma later this month.

Intellon CEO Timofey Semyonov was quoted as saying that a “growing interest in energy-intensive blockchain computing — against the backdrop of a significant surplus of energy resources in a number of Russian regions” “undoubtedly” offers “new opportunities.”

Semyonov claimed that not only miners would benefit from the development of the industry, but also “a significant number of related industries”.

Per the University of CambridgeAccording to Judge Business School calculations, as of January this year, Russia accounted for 4.66% of the average global monthly BTC hashrate — although some argue that Russia’s mining capacity has been rapidly declining in recent months as a result of China’s crackdown on mining in September 2021 could have grown.

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Learn more:
– Bitcoin mining gathers support in Russia as more details emerge on international crypto payments
– Russia: Only industrial players are allowed to mine Bitcoin & Crypto

– It’s time to legalize and tax bitcoin mining in Russia, says Deputy Prime Minister, academic and think tank
– The Moscow Stock Exchange should launch a crypto trading platform, says a top Russian politician

– Here’s why Russia issued a new “crypto payments ban.”
– Russian banks to “start handling digital ruble by 2024”

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