Russia’s Central Bank Says Bitcoin Miner Is Strengthening Ruble
Crypto journalist
Anas Hasan
Crypto journalist
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Russia's central bank has acknowledged that crypto mining contributes to the ruble's strength, although it's hard to gauge the exact impact because much of the industry operates in gray areas.
Governor Elvira Nabiullina said this while responding to questions about the sector's impact on the foreign exchange market, according to a local report.
The recognition comes as top Kremlin officials push to formally classify mining as an export activity in Russia's trade accounts, underscoring the sector's growing importance to the national economy despite regulatory concerns.
Mining emerges as an informal export driver.
Deputy Chief of Staff Maxim Orshkin at VTB “Calling Russia!” argued over. Forum crypto mining should be seen as an export activity because mining digital assets flow abroad even without crossing physical borders.
He cited the easing of mining-related financial flows as a result of inaccurate ruble exchange rate forecasts, calling the sector a “new export” that Russia “doesn't value very well”.
According to industry figures, Russia produces tens of thousands of Bitcoins every year, with a daily mining revenue of approximately 1 billion rubles.
The Industrial Mining Association reports that Russia is the world's second-largest miner, accounting for more than 16 percent of the world's hashrate during the summer months, although net production is expected to decline from an estimated 55,000 BTC in 2023 to 35,000 BTC in 2024.
Nabilina acknowledged the impact of the mining currency market, but emphasized the context, for mining, “It may be difficult to measure the current impact, because a significant part is still in the gray zone. But in any case, this mining did not come this year, which means that it cannot be due to the fact that the appreciation of the exchange rate has increased significantly.”
Even if the gray market operations are legal, they cost billions
Russia in 2010 It legalized crypto mining on November 1, 2024, requiring legal entities and entrepreneurs to register with the federal tax service, exempting individual miners consuming less than 6,000 kWh per month.
Corporate mining is taxed at 25%, individuals pay progressive rates of 13-22%, non-residents pay 30%.
Despite efforts to legalize it, illegal and illegal mining is costing Russia millions every year in stolen electricity and unpaid taxes.
Broadcaster Ren TV reports that fear of high taxes and electricity costs is driving many miners underground, and that operators are using meter controls, bribes and secret deals with utility workers, causing annual budget losses in the billions of roubles.
Recent investigations have uncovered widespread theft, including a St. Petersburg operator that bypassed meters since 2018, a grid worth half a billion rubles, and a Dagestan farm hidden in coolant tanks.
“An illegal crypto mining farm used more energy than an entire five-story building,” said one power supply worker, describing the scale of the illegal operation.
Police have arrested an employee of the Omsk thermal power plant who accepted a bribe of 500,000 rubles to facilitate grid theft.
Banks deposit digital assets when payments are suspended.
Russia's largest lender Sberbank is experimenting with decentralized financial instruments and regulated crypto-related investments totaling 1.5 billion rubles in structured bonds and digital financial assets tied to Bitcoin, Ethereum and broader crypto portfolios.
Vice-Chairman Anatoly Popov confirmed the active dialogue with the Bank of Russia and Rosfinmonitoring on the integration of crypto services within the prescribed framework while building a proprietary blockchain infrastructure.
Chairman of the State Duma Committee, Anatoly Aksakov, recently confirmed the country's strict payment restrictions in a TASS press release: “We must understand that cryptocurrencies will never become money in our country.”
“They can only be used as an investment tool. If payment is necessary, it will be in rubles only,” he said.
Central Bank Governor Nabiullina has repeatedly called for a ban on crypto exchanges and token trading, despite Russia recording $376.3 billion in revenue between July 2024 and June 2025.
First Deputy Chairman Vladimir Chistikukin emphasized the urgency of regulatory measures, saying that laws governing cryptocurrency transactions “must be passed as soon as possible.”
However, the bank supports tokenization solutions that allow foreign buyers to access Russian company shares as a potential sanctions solution.
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