Abkhazia in talks with Russia to supply energy for Bitcoin (BTC) mining

The South Caucasus state, Abkhazia revealed that it has been in talks with the Russian government to provide energy for relaunching Bitcoin (BTC) mining in the state. Abkhazia’s Minister of Economy and Deputy Prime Minister, Christina Ozgan spoke at a briefing on Wednesday, about the situation in the energy sector, the measures implemented by the government, electricity tariffs, and mining.

She announced that the government is in negotiations with Russia to supply electricity that would facilitate the BTC miners to set up camp in the region,

“Such a scheme has been worked out. We had representatives from the Russian side who studied the technical supply scheme. At the moment, a draft agreement has been sent to us, which we are working on, ”Ozgan said.

The Electricity Tariff Plan

The government of Abkhazia now aims to legalize crypto mining in the state, after the initial extension of the 2018 mining ban, up to 2022.

Ozgan shared the nitty-gritty of the 2020 extension on the temporary ban; explaining that crypto mining was not criminalized, i.e., it was not prohibited by the law, instead, restrictions on equipment were fastened. She also revealed that the country has seen an import of 66,000 mining rigs before the temporary ban came into effect.

In December 2020, the Cabinet of Ministers announced restrictions and extensions. However, in 2021 the executive branch came up with a legislative initiative to toughen the liability for illegal consumption of electricity in the mining of cryptocurrencies. This initiative was supported by the Parliament. To resolve the problem of mining and the energy crisis, the government has now proposed for miners to begin to pay the latest electricity tariff for cryptocurrency mining.

“a certain tariff plan will be approved, which will determine the time frame for changing the tariff by years within five years. We are already doing preliminary work. There are preliminary calculations. First, there will be a social tariff, most likely in 2022, and then we will completely change the tariff policy, ”said the Minister of Economy.