Russia to Lift Bitcoin Mining Ban Tomorrow and Plans to Build Mining and AI Facilities

On Oct. 31, Nico Smid, founder of Digital Mining Solutions, said that Russia plans to build bitcoin mining and artificial intelligence computing facilities in the BRICS countries, and that other countries may follow suit by using underutilized energy sources to mine bitcoin, according to Cointelegraph.

Russia's sovereign wealth fund is working with Russian data center operator BitRiver to build bitcoin mining and artificial intelligence computing facilities for the BRICS countries. The project could lead to BRICS countries settling global trade in bitcoin - an alternative to a basket of local currencies and gold as a currency-backed scheme.

Russia is set to lift its ban on bitcoin mining on Nov. 1, but not without restrictions. It requires all bitcoin miners to register with the Russian Federation Tax Registry and submit a list of machine models and wallet addresses.