Russia has been progressing in crypto with every passing day. Earlier, the country’s central bank and the finance ministry had divided opinions on the legalization and promotion of crypto mining in the country. The bank, however, was forced to allow crypto for cross-border settlements due to the ongoing geopolitical tensions and sanctions. In October, a report was published that revealed record low values of crypto mining revenues in the country, but this data from the fourth quarter suggest a surging interest in mining.
As per a recent report published by a local media house, in the fourth quarter of 2022, the sale of Bitcoin mining machines has surged rapidly. A resurgence of demand, irrespective of the chaotic price history of cryptocurrencies, backs the increasing demand for mining machines.
Figures from Chilkoot, one of the official distributors of crypto mining equipment in the country, reveal that the company witnessed more sales in the first two months of the fourth quarter than the entire third quarter. The company’s sales this year have been inflating as the sales figures from the first nine months of this year were 65% higher than that of 2021.
Data from the company suggest that the mining prices had a big hit in August and October, falling by approximately 20%; however, they remained the same over the past month. It also noticed that the sale of equipment in one transaction increased by 30% compared to the past year.
The report also highlights that despite declining demand for graphics processing units (GPUs), there has been increased interest in Application-Specific Integrated Circuits (ASIC) mining rigs. The ASIC miners are in high demand in Russia, given the decreased equipment pricing and cheap electricity prices.
Vladislav Antonov, a financial analyst at a crypto firm, believes that the price of ASIC mining applications (another company) is to the greater advantage of the miners. It is close to the cost of production, providing a good entry for investment.
Currently, the Bitcoin price is hovering around the $16,000 level and touches its two-year low value around a week ago. The mining hashrate has experienced a slight drop from surfing in the range of 260-300 Th/s to coming in the 220 Th/s levels. The revenues in Russia from mining crypto assets have also increased recently.
Didar Bekbauov, the Co-founder of Xive, a mining firm, also shared his opinions on Twitter in relevance to the increasing interest in mining.
“Hashrate growth came from Russia. Cheap electricity for households and businesses in some regions, cheap ASIC prices, sanctions, less investment opportunities, high tech qualification of people made bitcoin mining a very attractive industry in Russia.”
Russia initially planned to ban crypto mining in the country but decided to change its stance. The officials planned to legalize cryptocurrency mining in areas with extra electricity and prohibit it in energy-scarce ones. Currently, the Russian parliament is also working on a bill to legalize crypto-mining activities in the country.