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Aleksey Tsydenov, the head of Buryatia has recently signed an order to provide Bitriver-B with a 5.5-hectare land plot in Mukhorshibiri for rent without bidding. The document has clearly indicated that the land is allocated for the implementation of a large-scale investment project. It will be allotted for the construction of a 100 MW data center at the Buryatia ASEZ.
The governor signed the decree citing economic benefits of allowing the construction of a 13.6-acre data center in the South-Eastern part of Siberia. The new facility which will be constructed is slotted to undertake several activities that will promote the use of trending technologies. It will also include a major BTC mining operation.
The newly-helmed project also comes with economic benefits and jobs. The entire facility will be built by BitRiver and it is expected to create up to 100 local jobs. The new facility will have the latest generation of ASIC miners but it will take close to a year to complete the project. The facility will be multifold in the sense that apart from Bitcoin mining, it will also be used for Big Data and the Internet Of Things – the biggest and the most sought-after aspects of Artificial Intelligence. The investment required to accentuate the process of construction is estimated to be 691 million rubles equivalent to $0.9 million. The funding will be provided by the USA, China, and Japan in unison.
Bitriver-B LLC was founded this year in August and is registered in Mukhorshibiri. The owner of the company Igor Runets is a well-known figure in the cryptocurrency circles related to the field of mining. Back in 2019, it was reported that the owners of the Bitriver Rus Company have started a mining farm near the Bratsk aluminum plant. RBC reported that the city is the optimal choice for cheap electricity coming from hydroelectric power. The low temperatures also are quite favorable or the equipment at the data center.
Invest Foresight publication had earlier said that electricity is a major factor in mining. Bitriver found electricity sources in the Irkutsk region near the Bratsk hydroelectric power station. This plant is considered the largest hydropower producer in Russia currently running at overcapacity. The data center capacity created by Bitriver is 100 MW. previously no major Russian mining player has reported the purchase of any such volume of energy capacity. Bitriver is not a direct player in mining, but it only provides the equipment in the data center along with technical services. The clients of Bitriver include representatives from several countries including the USA, Japan, and China.
Siberia is a region that is blessed in natural resources which converts into cheap electricity prices. The region is still marred by legal uncertainty regarding cryptocurrency mining, however, it is still considered the most attractive place in the world for mining. Its proximity to China which is the main producer of the equipment has also contributed to the efficiency of the company’s supply chain.