BitRiver CEO ‘Worth $230M,’ as Russia’s Crypto Mining Growth ‘Outpaces US’

The BitRiver CEO Igor Runets is worth $230 million, a Bloomberg article has claimed. And the crypto mining chief says that Russia’s growth in the sector now outpaces that of the United States.

The Bloomberg piece claimed that Runets was “building a fortune” from President Vladimir Putin’s “U-turn” on crypto mining policies.

BitRiver CEO: Building New Data Centers

BitRiver is arguably the biggest of Russia’s fast-growing industrial crypto mining players. Like many Russian miners, it focuses most of its capacity on Bitcoin (BTC) mining.

Bloomberg explained that its $230 million valuation was based on estimates of the company’s worth, as well as the approximate cost of the firm’s soon-to-be-completed data centers.

BitRiver is hoping to bring 1MW of crypto mining capacity online in the near future, with data centers being built all over the nation.

Runets told RBC that both Russian and “international customers” had shown an interest in backing his firm.

“We can see this as another confirmation of the thesis that Russia is catching up with the US in the crypto mining sphere, outpacing the United States in terms of growth. And in the years ahead, [Russia] may become the leader.”

BitRiver CEO Igor Runets

Boost for Russian Crypto Mining Players?

Some international crypto mining investors have pulled out of Russia following the outbreak of war in Ukraine.

However, the mining sector received a major boost on September 1, when industrial mining was officially recognized as a form of entrepreneurship.

Russian crypto miners have hinted this has seen an increase in investment. Many believe this will lead to a rise in banks’ involvement in the sector.

Runets was also keen to note that crypto mining “lays the foundation for the development of the artificial intelligence industry.”

He added that crypto mining “is becoming a driver for the development” of the Russian “digital economy.”

Mining industry representatives have previously claimed that their sector is an IT growth engine.

They have also told Moscow that they are helping to train new tech talents. And, in a possible sweetener for the government, they have told ministers that they will let the state use their new data centers for nationwide IT projects.

West Is Taking Note, Runets Claims

Runets added that Western powers now notice the fact that Russia may “become a world leader in crypto mining.”

And, he said, mainstream Western media outlets were now “speaking openly about this prospect.”

US-based experts, meanwhile, called Russia’s crypto mining legalization move “a way to simplify international settlements under sanctions.”

Bloomberg noted that Runets received an MBA from Stanford University in 2017, while “at the same time” building his firm’s first data center for crypto mining in Bratsk.

Gazprom, Others Plan New Centers

The media outlet noted that “it was during his time at Stanford” that Runets learned about crypto mining.

Some of the BitRiver CEO’s Stanford classmates “became some of BitRiver’s first clients,” the outlet explained.

The company now claims to be running 15 data centers with a total capacity of over 500 MW.

Since September 1, regional leaders and major Russian businesses have expressed a willingness to enter the crypto mining industry.

Russia's Lavrov warns West against 'fight to victory with a nuclear power' https://t.co/ayZBuhcBxj pic.twitter.com/fJFq9PJfyB

— Reuters (@Reuters) September 28, 2024

These reportedly include the oil and gas giant Gazprom, which is thought to be building a 500-rig BTC mining center in the historic city of Novgorod (also known as Veliky Novgorod).

Last year, Runets told Pro Business that BitRiver was “the biggest” crypto mining player in Eurasia and “one of the biggest” mining firms “in the world.”