Russian Bitcoin Miner BitRiver Added to US Sanctions List » Crypto Insiders

The US Treasury Department has a Russian bitcoin (BTC) miner placed on the sanctions list. This is the first time a crypto miner has faced sanctions from the United States.

Bitcoin Mining Company BitRiver Faces Sanctions

The US Department has BitRiver on its so-called Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) listing put. This is a list of individuals and companies banned from the United States. Companies and individuals are generally not permitted to do business with names on this list.

And recently this also includes BitRiver. Additionally, 10 BitRiver subsidiaries have also been added to the list. According to a ministry announcement that hands is from The Block, the miner was listed because he could easily convert Russian energy resources into silver:

“By operating huge server farms that sell cryptocurrency mining capabilities internationally, these companies are helping Russia monetize its natural resources. […] The United States is determined to ensure that no asset, no matter how complex, becomes a mechanism for the Putin regime to offset the impact of sanctions.

A setback for Putin?

Now that Russia is facing sweeping sanctions following its invasion of Ukraine, the country will likely look for ways to keep its economy going. One of the options seems to be crypto mining for a while now.

At the end of March, the Russian Deputy Energy Minister already suggested legalizing crypto mining. “If we want to somehow continue with this activity, and we have no other options in the current reality, we must introduce legal regulation and add the concept of mining to the framework. regulatory”, says the deputy minister†

It is unclear to what scale Russia is now mining bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies to, for example, convert gas into value.