OREANDA-NEWS  The capacity of mining sites in Russia has grown sharply along with the demand for cryptocurrency and by the end of 2022 exceeded 500 megawatts, market participants told Kommersant. According to them, low equipment prices also contributed to the growth.

BitRiver became the leader in terms of capacity — by the end of the year it had soared 2.5 times, to 300 megawatts at eight sites, its founder Igor Runets told the publication. In second place is the Ural Mining Company (UMC) with a computing capacity of 88 megawatts. Other major sites — BitCluster, EMCD and BWCUG — have 60 megawatts, 50 megawatts and 20 megawatts, respectively.

At the same time, the year was not successful for everyone — BWCUG, for example, reduced capacity. According to the company's representatives, interest from new customers from Europe and North America in domestic sites is low, and the legislative prospects for mining are uncertain. EMCD Marketing Director Alisa Tsukanova expects that the profitability of the business may fall if special electricity tariffs and separate taxation for miners are installed in Russia.

At the same time, market players remind that mining is currently outside the legal field, but it does not fall under any prohibitions. Cryptocurrency legal relations in the country can be fixed at least within the framework of an experimental legal regime, said Igor Runets from BitRiver.

In November 2022, a bill on the legalization of mining was submitted to the State Duma, but it has not yet been adopted due to the fears of one of the participants in the discussion that cryptocurrencies will be used to illegally withdraw money from the country, Interfax wrote. Earlier, the Ministry of Finance reported that the Central Bank opposes the legalization of cryptocurrencies. According to Anatoly Aksakov, chairman of the State Duma Committee on the financial market, either an analogue of a single imputed income tax (UTII, 7.5-15 percent rate) or a profit tax of 20 percent can be established in relation to miners.