According to the a business newspaper on Friday, Russia has overtaken China as the world’s second-biggest cryptocurrency mining country this year, thanks in large part to the efforts of Bitriver, the country’s largest bitcoin mining supplier.
The country’s generating capacity surpassed 1 gigawatt in January-March 2023, putting it in second place only to the United States, which has 3-4 gigawatts of mining capacity.
According to the international magazine, Russia has overtaken Kazakhstan to become the world’s second largest cryptocurrency mining nation. Kazakhstan dropped to ninth place after instituting regulations on cryptocurrency mining in 2022. Itdidn’t rank China, which will restrict cryptocurrency mining in 2021, among its top 10.
Russia and US have different take on crypto
President Vladimir Putin’s 2020 law on digital financial assets authorized cryptocurrencies but outlawed using them to pay for goods and services, limiting the scope of Bitcoin’s use in the country.
However, the United States blacklisted a bitcoin and an ether address in February, alleging that they were involved in Russian defense equipment sales overseas, further linking cryptocurrencies to its sanctions evasion efforts.
As part of its eighth set of measures adopted last year, the European Union outlawed all cryptocurrency transactions with Russian residents and anyone residing in the country.
To read our article about “Remittances reached a seven-month high of $2 bn in March” click here.
