First two centers in Mikun and Sindor will cost a combined total of $27.6 million
Russia’s cryptocurrency revolution is moving quickly; the Komi Republic in the country’s northeast has announced plans to construct 15 new data centers for cryptocurrency mining.
Per a report from TASS, the Komi regional governor Vladimir Uyba said the first two of the 15 new data centers will be built in Mikun and Sindor.
Crypto Mining Hub: Russia Ready to Welcome More Miners?
Investors have supported the building project, according to Uyba. The combined estimated cost of the first two centers is $27.6 million.
Which coins would be mined at the center was not mentioned by him. Nonetheless, the great majority of miners in Russia usually concentrate on Bitcoin (BTC).
One of the main cities in the Ust-Vymsky District is Mikun. A smaller settlement in the Knyazhpogostsky District is called Sindor. Plots for the two centers “have been allocated,” according to Uyba.
And Uyba clarified that the project would be jointly carried out by the republic and a power company called Energoresource-K.
The regional chief stated that a “collaboration agreement” had already been signed by the two sides.
“The project will help us develop the IT industry and digital technologies. [Energoresource-K] is committed for the long term. It is ready to invest about 35 billion rubles [$386.2 million] in the project.”Vladimir Uyba, Head of the Komi Republic
Komi would start building more “data processing centers” in “other cities and regions of the republic,” according to TASS, “in the future.”
Komi’s Mining Advantages
The Ural Mountains are located to the west of Komi. Despite not being a well-known hub for cryptocurrency miners, it has substantial reserves of gas and oil.
Several recently opened thermal power plants and hydrocarbon fields are also located there. Similar to numerous other well-known Russian mining hotspots, Komi experiences extended, frigid winters and brief summers.
The move comes just days after the newspaper Vedomosti reported that the majority state-owned gas giant Gazprom will create a crypto mining-focused subsidiary.
According to reports, the new subsidiary plans to construct a 5,000-rig cryptocurrency mining facility in the Novgorod Oblast’s historic city of Veliky Novgorod.
According to people close to the company, it will operate at capacity by 2028. Additionally, they claim that Gazprom has budgeted $452.4 million for its cryptocurrency mining venture.
Putin Aiming for Mining Progress?
Vladimir Putin, the president of Russia, approved a bill that makes mining cryptocurrencies legal in August. Industrial participants are required by law to register with a central body.
Russia said it swapped 103 prisoners captured by Ukraine during Kyiv’s incursion into the Kursk region https://t.co/F94HwL0TXN
— Bloomberg (@business) September 14, 2024
If private miners stay within residential energy usage caps, they are exempt from registration requirements.
In order to establish infrastructure, regulations, and suitable “conditions for the circulation of digital assets,” Putin pleaded with his government “not to miss the moment.”
Earlier this month, a government minister spoke about Moscow’s plans to allow miners access to surplus electricity.
Russian miners have historically concentrated their operations in Siberia. In the Irkutsk Oblast, a cryptocurrency mining hub has been established.
On the other hand, local grids are being burdened by illegal miners, according to complaints made by power providers in Siberia. They have responded by enacting extensive crackdowns.
As a result, big businesses now seem to be eschewing Irkutsk in favor of establishing new hubs elsewhere in the country.