Russia is now the second largest Bitcoin miner after the U.S., according to a report by Russian media Kommersant. Russia’s new ranking comes amid moves by the U.S. to tax and regulate crypto mining at both state and federal levels, resulting in a less welcoming environment for the industry in the U.S.
See related article: Bitcoin mining difficulty rises 1.7% to record high, hashrate jumps
Fast facts
- Russia bagged the second position globally in terms of its mining capacity between January and March, at 1 gigawatt (GW), the media report quoted BitRiver, a turnkey solutions provider for cryptocurrency mining.
- The U.S. led with 3-4 GW of mining capacity. Others in the top 10 include the Persian Gulf with 700 MW, Canada with 400 MW, and Malaysia with 300 MW, the report said.
- Russia was in third place at the end of 2021, ahead of the U.S. and Kazakhstan in terms of bitcoin mining capacity, the report said, citing data from The Cambridge Center for Alternative Finance.
- Cryptocurrency mining is a process of creating new digital coins like Bitcoin and putting them in circulation.
- See related article: Crypto miner Bitdeer falls 35% since Nasdaq debut, reports net loss in 2022