The United States government continues to expand its sanctions on everything related to Russia, due to their invasion of Ukraine.
These various economic sanctions have made Bitcoin transactions in Russia soar. And now, America has a new target for sanctions, namely crypto miners from Russia, as quoted by us from Techspot, Monday (25/4/2022).
"By operating a large number of servers selling their mining capacity internationally, these companies are helping Russia monetize its natural resources," said Brian Nelson, Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence.
Cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin have indeed helped Russia reduce the impact of various international sanctions addressed to the Red Bear Country due to its invasion of Ukraine.
Now, the US Government through the US Treasury has listed BitRiver and ten of its subsidiaries on the list of sanctioned companies.
The company is engaged in Bitcoin mining using hydroelectric power. BitRiver is headquartered in Switzerland, and has around 200 employees in its three offices in Russia.
They also have full representatives in a number of countries such as China, Japan, United Arab Emirates, South Korea, Switzerland, Germany, and the United States.
"Russia has a distinct advantage for crypto mining because of its energy resources and cold temperatures. But mining companies rely heavily on imported computer equipment and cash payments, which makes them highly vulnerable to sanctions," the US Treasury wrote in a statement.
According to Cambridge University, Russia is the 3rd largest Bitcoin miner in the world, accounting for 11.2% of the global hashrate. Meanwhile America is in first position and Kazakhstan is in 2nd position.
A month after his invasion of Ukraine, weekly crypto transactions in Russia doubled, and the number of Bitcoin wallets active in Russia grew from 39.9 million to 40.7 million.
According to CEO and founder of BitRiver Igor Runets, the sanctions imposed on his company are a disruption to the crypto mining industry, and expose an unfair competition.
"This American action should be seen as an interference with the crypto mining industry, unfair competition, and an attempt to change the global balance of power in favor of corporate America," he said.
"BitRiver has never provided its services to Russian government institutions and has never worked with consumers who have been targeted by sanctions from Washington," Runets added.
