Russia’s Central Bank Reveals: Bitcoin Mining Is Actually Strengthening the Ruble

Russia's monetary authority drops a crypto bombshell—mining operations are propping up the national currency.

The Unlikely Currency Defender

Forget sanctions and energy exports. The Central Bank of Russia now points to Bitcoin mining as a surprising pillar of ruble strength. Mining farms—often criticized for their energy appetite—are funneling hard currency into the Russian economy. They're selling mined Bitcoin for rubles on domestic exchanges, creating constant foreign demand for the national currency.

How Crypto Mining Moves Markets

This isn't about speculative trading. It's about industrial-scale operations converting digital gold into tangible economic impact. Every mined block translates to foreign capital entering Russia's financial system—capital that bypasses traditional banking channels and sanctions frameworks. The mechanism is brutally efficient: electricity converts to Bitcoin, Bitcoin converts to dollars or euros, those convert to rubles.

The Geopolitical Twist

Western regulators paint crypto as a threat to monetary sovereignty. Russia's experience suggests the opposite—that decentralized mining can reinforce national currencies when traditional channels face pressure. It's the ultimate financial irony: the asset class Washington loves to criticize is stabilizing the currency of its geopolitical rival. One might call it poetic justice, or just another case of capital finding its way around political theater.

What This Means for Global Finance

The implications ripple far beyond Russia's borders. If mining strengthens national currencies, expect more energy-rich nations to embrace rather than restrict operations. We're witnessing the birth of crypto-industrial policy—where computational power translates directly to monetary strength. Traditional economists might clutch their pearls, but the numbers don't lie: hash rate correlates with currency demand.

So while Wall Street debates ETFs and adoption curves, industrial miners are quietly rebuilding monetary foundations—one block at a time. The future of national currencies might just run on graphics cards and cheap electricity. And somewhere, a central banker is smiling at the beautiful, inconvenient truth that sometimes the solution comes from the very sector you're supposed to regulate into oblivion.

Mining Emerges as Informal Export Driver

Deputy Chief of Staff Maxim Oreshkin argued at the VTB “Russia Calling!” forum that crypto mining should be treated as an export activity because mined digital assets effectively FLOW abroad even without crossing physical borders.

He described the sector as “” that Russia “doesn’t value very well,” citing the underestimation of mining-related financial flows as the reason for incorrect ruble exchange rate forecasts.

Industry figures estimate Russia produces tens of thousands ofannually, with daily mining revenue reaching approximately 1 billion rubles.

The Industrial Mining Association reports Russia ranks second globally for mining, accounting for over 16% of the world’s hashrate in the summer months, though network halving reduced output from roughly 55,000 BTC in 2023 to around 35,000 BTC in 2024.

Nabiullina acknowledged mining’s currency market impact but emphasized context, stating that for mining, “it’s probably difficult to quantify its impact right now, because a significant portion of it is still in the gray zone. But in any case, this mining didn’t emerge this year, meaning the exchange rate appreciation can’t be attributed to the fact that it has risen sharply.“

Gray Market Operations Cost Billions Despite Legalization

Russia legalized crypto mining on November 1, 2024, requiring legal entities and entrepreneurs to register with the Federal Tax Service, while exempting individual miners who consume less than 6,000 kWh per month.

Corporate mining is taxed at 25%, while individuals pay progressive rates of 13-22%, with non-residents paying 30%.

Despite legalization efforts, illegal and quasi-legal mining continues costing Russia millions annually through stolen electricity and unpaid taxes.

Broadcaster Ren TV reported that fear of high taxes and electricity costs is driving many miners underground, with annual budget losses reaching billions of rubles as operators resort to meter manipulation, bribery, and secret agreements with utility workers.

Recent investigations uncovered widespread theft, including a St. Petersburg operator who bypassed meters since 2018, costing the grid half a billion rubles, and a Dagestan farm hidden in coolant tanks.

A power supply employee described the scale of the illegal operation, saying: “The illegal crypto mining farm was using more power than an entire five-story building.”

Police arrested an employee of Omsk Thermal Power Plant who accepted 500,000 rubles in bribes to facilitate grid theft.

Banks Enter Digital Assets While Payments Remain Banned

Sberbank, Russia’s largest lender, is testing decentralized finance tools and offering regulated crypto-linked investments totaling 1.5 billion rubles in structured bonds and digital financial assets tied to Bitcoin, Ethereum, and broader crypto portfolios.

Deputy Chairman Anatoly Popov confirmed active dialogue with the Bank of Russia and Rosfinmonitoring on integrating crypto services within regulated frameworks while building proprietary blockchain infrastructure.

Despite the growth across verticals, State Duma Committee Chairman Anatoly Aksakov recently reaffirmed the country’s strict payment bans, declaring at a TASS press conference: “We must understand that cryptocurrencies will never become money within our country.”

Russian lawmaker Anatoly Aksakov said that payments in Russia must only be conducted in rubles, dismissing crypto becoming legal tender.#RussiaCrypto #CryptoPayments #CryptoRegulationhttps://t.co/BLk0c4qHcQ

“They can only be used as an investment instrument. If payment is required, it will only be in rubles,” he added.

Central Bank Governor Nabiullina has repeatedly called for bans on crypto exchanges and token trading, despite Russia recording $376.3 billion in incoming transactions between July 2024 and June 2025.

First Deputy Chairman Vladimir Chistyukhin emphasized the urgency of regulatory action, stating that laws governing cryptocurrency transactions “must be passed as quickly as possible.“

However, the bank also supports tokenization solutions to grant foreign buyers access to Russian company shares as a potential sanctions workaround.