Bitriver to open 100 MW mining facility following subsidy from Russia

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As many jurisdictions worldwide clamp down on block reward mining, Russia is incentivizing miners to set up operations in its northern region of Siberia.

Russia is handing subsidies and over $12 million in direct support for miners as it seeks to become a BTC mining powerhouse, according to local media reports. The country is reportedly setting up a facility in Siberia that will house over 30,000 mining rigs with a capacity of 100 MW.

Russia’s Corporation for the Development of the Far East and the Arctic (KRDV) is leading the effort, with the facility expected to start operations in the first half of this year. Bitriver, Russia’s largest block reward miner, has been tapped to operate the facility, which is expected to employ 100 people.

“The Bitriver-B company has been provided with a wide range of government support tools. These are zero taxes on land and property, insurance premiums reduced to 7.6%, and a reduced income tax rate,” commented Dmitry Khameruev, the KRDV director in Buryatia.

“After connecting the resident’s facility to the unified national power grid, the electricity tariff will be reduced by about half; for an energy-intensive enterprise, this is one of the most important support measures,” he added.

The move is Russia’s biggest yet in its support of BTC block reward mining in recent times. With every global power slapping sanctions on the Vladimir Putin government since it invaded Ukraine, the country has warmed up to digital assets in the past year.

A report by the Russian newspaper Kommersant last December found that ASIC purchases in Russia increased significantly in the final quarter of 2022. Some experts, including the founder of Kazakh-based block reward miner Xive Didar Bekbauov, believe Russia will overtake most countries and become a mining hub.

Russia can gain a foothold in the second place in the world in cryptocurrency mining.

Oleg Ogienko, B2G director of Bitriver, says now Russia consumes 1.7 GW for mining, 60% of which belongs to industrial data centers (from 10 MW)…

— Didar (@didar_bekbau) December 8, 2022

Russia is embracing block reward miners at a time when many other countries are scaling back. Its neighbor Kazakhstan recently passed a law allowing miners to tap the national grid when there’s a surplus of electricity. Kazakh miners also must sell off 75% of the BTC they mine starting January 2024.

Watch: How to Achieve Green Bitcoin: Energy Consumption & Environmental Sustainability