One of the main themes among the crypto community in 2021 was China’s aggressive policy toward mining, which led to a complete ban on such activities in September. While mining as a type of financial activity has not gone away and is unlikely to disappear, Chinese cryptocurrency miners had to look for a new place to set up shop. Many of them moved to the United States — the world’s new mining mecca — while some left to Scandinavia and others to nearby Kazakhstan, with its cheap electricity. Mining activities can’t stay under the radar forever, and governments around the …
On August 10, the United States Senate voted to pass a $1 trillion bill to revitalize America’s infrastructure. From the standpoint of the crypto community, miners in particular, the Senate’s foray into crypto legislation has been a disaster. Unless the language defining brokers in the bill is clarified, it will singlehandedly thwart the growth of a domestic industry just as it is taking off. As written, the bill allows for multiple interpretations of the term “broker.” In the English language, there is no real controversy — or ambiguity — about what a broker does. According to Merriam-Webster’s online dictionary, a …
Abkhazia, a de facto state in the South Caucasus, continues to face an energy crisis. The head of the region’s national energy provider recently blamed increased crypto mining activity for the problems. According to Jam News, the government’s year-old ban on crypto mining has not been respected nor enforced by the local authorities, with miners continuing to take advantage of the area's low energy costs. Ruslan Kvarchia, director of operational and technological management of Chernomorenergo, Abkhazia’s official energy company, said: “Total capacity of the mining equipment operating in the republic is at least 40–45 megawatts. This capacity, subject to round-the-clock …
The Republic of Abkhazia is witnessing a surge in crypto mining activities despite crypto-related activities being illegal since 2018. Customs have reported that mining hardware worth over $589,000 has crossed the border over the past six months. According to Nuzhnaya Gazeta, importing crypto mining rigs remains legally permissible. Importers are required to pay taxes equal to 1% of the hardware’s worth and a VAT of 10%. The largely unrecognized state in the South Caucasus, which is considered by several countries as an “autonomous republic” of Georgia, states that they’ve earned over $84,100 in taxes just from crypto mining rig imports …
Amid the Russian government continuing working hard to come up with cryptocurrency regulations, a federal ministry has made another proposal regarding the crypto mining industry. Russia’s Ministry of Economic Development has greenlighted the concept of crypto mining regulation in the country, proposing to allow mining operations in areas with “sustainable surplus in electricity generation,” local news agency Izvestia reported Tuesday. As part of the proposal, the ministry suggested introducing lower fees for setting up mining farms and data centers in specific Russia’s areas as well as offering reduced energy rates for such facilities. The ministry also wants to establish a …