SBI Holdings Shuts Down Bitcoin Mining Services in Russia Citing Sanctions Concerns | Rare Techy

SBI Holdings, Japan’s leading financial services company, will close its crypto mining operations in Russia. Bloomberg the news.

A spokesman for the firm said that one of the reasons behind the move was the general uncertainty over the prospects of the mining business in Siberia following the sanctions imposed on Russia following its invasion of Ukraine.

Earlier this year, the International Monetary Fund warned that Russia could avoid economic sanctions imposed by the US and other Western countries by turning to cryptocurrency mining.

The general decline in crypto prices this year is something SBI has also taken into account, the spokesperson added, as the Bitcoin mining business has slowed down.

SBI Crypto, the conglomerate’s crypto mining subsidiary, has been mining cryptocurrencies in mining fields outside Japan since August 2017, opening its mining pool to the public in March 2021.

I am fine BitcoinThe company also does mining Bitcoin Cash and Bitcoin SV.

With 2.46 EH/s of computing power, SBI’s Bitcoin mining pool is currently ranked 11th worldwide, providing a net hash rate of 1.2%, per BTC.com.

It is not immediately clear when exactly SBI will stop its crypto mining operations in Russia.

Before the withdrawal is complete, SBI will be forced to sell all of its mining equipment located in Siberia, a spokesman for the firm said.

Bitcoin workers are leaving Russia

Russia, which has large resources of cheap power from natural gas dams and hydroelectric power, has become a popular destination for Bitcoin miners after China made a major breakthrough in the crypto industry last year.

In April, that all changed following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, with the US Treasury Department imposing sanctions on BitRiver, a Swiss-based mining company with several branches in Russia.

“By operating large server farms that sell virtual currency mining capacity internationally, these companies help Russia monetize its natural resources,” the Treasury said at the time.

Compass Mining, an American Bitcoin hardware mining company, has announced that it plans to sell $30 million worth of crypto mining equipment in Siberia, or 15% of its current capacity, to avoid fines in the short term.