News
Putin Fears Cryptocurrency Mining Could Cause Energy Shortages in Russia – POLITICO
New businesses and residential neighborhoods will face electricity shortages if cryptocurrency mining companies take over all free energy capacity and investment projects are put on hold, Putin added, Ria News Agency.
His statement came on the same day Russia was forced to introduce power cuts in several regions due to a problem at the Rostov nuclear power plant.
Crypto mining is extremely energy-intensive, causing electricity supply problems even in energy giants like Russia and the United States. Russia ranks third in the world in crypto-mining capacity.
The energy consumption of all crypto assets combined is between 0.4 and 0.9 percent of annual global electricity use, or 120 billion to 240 billion kilowatt hours per year. That’s more energy than the world’s data centers combined, says Canadian energy company Just Energy has reportedOver two percent of U.S. energy now it goes towards cryptocurrency mining.
Last year, Russian military units in Ukraine received a total of more than $1.8 million in cryptocurrency donations, CoinDesk reported.
The United States sanctioned 13 entities helped Russia circumvent international sanctions through virtual asset services and technology procurement in March.
This article has been updated.