Evgeny Grabchak, Russian Energy Minister, shows concern over crypto mining

Evgeny Grabchak, Russia’s Deputy Energy Minister, remarked on Saturday that the mining sector is now working in a “legal vacuum” that must be remedied urgently. According to Grabchak, Russia needs to break the veil on regulations and use crypto mining to its advantage, adding that the government should choose where miners should be clustered for maximum output as a show of good faith.

Evgeny Grabchak’s comments came after Russia was hit with some of the worst economic sanctions in history in reaction to its invasion of Ukraine. As a result of the sanctions, Russia is effectively cut off from the western banking system.

Russia has long been considered a suitable destination for Bitcoin mining as a means of coping with the ever-tougher sanctions imposed on the country due to its enormous energy resources. Evgeny Grabchak stressed that deciding mining regions and allocating energy resources to miners at the regional level would be more efficient than at the federal level, and that this should be driven by regional development plans. He emphasised the need to limit energy consumption in regional development plans, resulting in a more efficient market.

Pavel Zavalny, a member of the Russian State Duma and the chairman of the Energy Committee, recently recommended Bitcoin and national currencies as alternative payment methods for energy exports to “friendly countries.”

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