Bitcoin Miners Leave Russia As Another Major Firm Backs Out

Russia has been at the center of worldwide scrutiny since it began the Ukraine invasion. In the latest development, SBI Holdings, Japan’s largest online brokerage has decided to close down its mining operations in Russia.

SBI pulls out mining operations

According to reports, Hideyuki Katsuchi, CFO of SBI said they are planning to sell mining equipment and will withdraw soon. He mentioned that the Ukraine invasion had generated uncertainties regarding the mining activities in the Siberian region.

However, the SBI is yet to conclude its decision to complete its withdrawal from the country. It added that the Japan based online brokerage firm holds no other crypto related business in Russia. Meanwhile, it will still be operating its SBI Bank LLC in Moscow.

SBI holdings have been fast of the Japanese financial firms in getting into digital currencies. However, it halted its mining in the Siberian regions as soon as the war broke out. This led to the loss of around $72 million in just three months for the firm.

Miners facing difficulties in Russia

Miners used to move to Russia in order to take benefit of low cost power. It emerged as one of the most favored destinations alongside North America after China launched a ban on digital asset mining.

Meanwhile, Crypto miners all around the world have been facing trouble in recovering their earnings as the market continues to trade in bear claws. Coingape reported that Stronghold Digital Mining Inc. is thinking about selling over 26K of its mining rig. This will be done in order to reduce its debt.

Stronghold might sign an agreement with lenders to sell its machine. This will help the company to clear out the debt of around $67.4 million.

Even International Monetary Fund (IMF) issued a warning against crypto mining irregularities in Russia because of launched sanctions against it.