Russia teamed up with its largest crypto miner, BitRiver, and announced plans to build crypto mining data centres in the BRICS nations. According to representatives from the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) and BitRiver, both during the BRICS Business Forum in Moscow on October 18, announced plans to expand to new international markets.
The sovereign wealth fund RDIF and BitRiver have committed to the joint construction of data centres in BRICS countries. The result: Boosting Russia’s share in the global computing power market and preparing for artificial intelligence (AI) development projects.
RDIF and BitRiver Collaborate on Advanced Technology Investments
Igor Runets, CEO of BitRiver, shared his vision for the initiative, stating: “Working with the Russian Direct Investment Fund, we’re going to create an infrastructure base based on crypto mining.” We will construct the data centres and connect them with an available capacity for utilization. “Through that, we will be able to deploy and implement AI projects.”
At the moment, BitRiver has 21 data centres in Russia and ones under construction, as many as 10. The firm said these new centres would, in part, help address the growing appetite for data centres that need a lot of energy. While neither side punched out any deals with the individual BRICS nations, both parties said their experience would create new opportunities in areas where the capacity for high-performance computing is constrained.
Like Runets, RDIF CEO Kirill Dmitriev emphasized that the development of computing and AI power is a top priority for Russia and its BRICS allies. He also mentioned that the partnership seeks to increase the capacity that crypto mining infrastructure can operate in by future scalability.
However, the RDIF, which chairs the BRICS Business Council’s working group on financial services and investments, said it plans to set up a joint investment platform for the BRICS nations to invest in advanced technologies, including AI.
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BRICS AI Businesses Projected to Boost GDP by $370 Billion
Established interest in the economic potential of BRICS AI-powered businesses can be seen given estimates of how much the GDP of BRICS nations would increase by $370 billion a year. But the flagship high-growth sectors are crypto and AI, and Moscow is hoping to use its influence in these to give it a central role in this new economy.
It’s part of Russia’s continued push into crypto mining, which has itself become a strategic play for the government. Although Moscow had early reservations about cryptocurrency, the Russian Energy Ministry is now open about supplying surplus energy to miners. Furthermore, Russia’s state-owned oil and gas giant Gazprom has also developed a crypto-mining subsidiary, indicating the wider backing of the state behind the whole industry.
The crypto mining race is gathering momentum even in regional governments. For instance, last month, the Komi Republic said it aimed to build two new crypto-mining data centres worth a combined $27.6 million, with another 13 in the pipeline. Russian lawmakers think they will be able to use crypto assets like Bitcoin for international trade to skirt Western sanctions, setting up barbed wire around traditional banking systems and U.S. dollar transactions.
With Russia leading up to the upcoming BRICS summit, in Kazan from October 22-24, there are many predicting that crypto mining and AI will be at the top of the agenda. As that momentum grows, Moscow appears to be realizing that crypto mining could be not only an economic mainstay, but also a vital balance of power tool as global tides ebb and flow.
Conclusion
Just before the BRICS summit, Russia shows its consistency in crypto mining and AI focus. This is not only the most critically important, but also the most commercially valuable, set of these technologies for Russia’s economy and international strategy, potentially providing new ways of development and refusing the trajectories of geopolitical challenges and sanctions.
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