Security News > 2022 > April > U.S. Treasury sanctions Russian cryptocurrency mining companies
The U.S. Department of the Treasury has announced a new package of sanctions targeting parties that facilitate evasion of previous measures imposed on Russia.
Among the sanction-bypassing mechanisms identified and blocked, the announcement names corporate entities engaging in large-scale cryptocurrency mining in Russia.
The most notable crypto-mining firm hit by the latest package of U.S. sanctions is BitRiver, founded in Russia in 2017 by Igor Runets, the firm's current CEO. Runets is also the Vice President of the Russian Association of Cryptocurrency and Blockchain and the Chairman of Mining in the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation.
On Wednesday, April 20, the US Treasury Department's sanctions list included a private company, BitRiver, which has never provided services to Russian government institutions and has not worked with customers already targeted by Washington's sanctions.
These US actions should obviously be viewed as interference in the crypto mining industry, unfair competition and an attempt to change the global balance of power in favor of American companies.
The cryptocurrency mining operations in Russia are likely to decrease gradually as the practical and business obstacles will far outweigh the economic benefits.