Russian Miner Coin — a company co-owned by one of Vladimir Putin’s advisers — plans to generate $100 million worth of cryptocurrency. The company wants to start a large scale bitcoin mining operation in Russia. They want to challenge China for bitcoin mining supremacy and dethrone the Asian country as the world’s leader in bitcoin mining.
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Building a Mining Infrastructure in Russia
Russian Miner Coin is creating a new digital asset and having a token sale. They are 
positioning to generate revenue for building a mining infrastructure in Russia. The initial coin offering (ICO) for these “RMC” tokens will provide holders with rights to 18% of the earnings generated by all mining equipment purchased with investment funds.
A Fortune magazine article elaborated, saying, “Russian Miner Coin is holding a so-called initial coin offering, where investors will use units of ethereum or bitcoin to buy new RMC tokens. These new tokens will have rights to 18 percent of the revenue earned with the company’s mining equipment, according to a presentation posted on its website.”
The Russians are going to use semiconductor chips, which were designed for satellites, to power the equipment and minimize costs. Putin’s internet ombudsman, Dmitry Marinichev, provided this information in a recent news conference. He suggested Russia has a lot of potential to grow in the field of cryptocurrency mining. He said,
Russia has the potential to reach up to 30 percent share in global cryptocurrency mining in the future
Russia Joins ICO Craze; Mining Electrical Costs in Russia
It appears that Russia is taking advantage of the current craze for ICO’s. Therefore, creating a token that represents mining value seems ingenious for bootstrapping a project.
Many similar ICO’s have been able to generate millions of dollars within minutes and hours, 
and much more over the course of days. It is likely Russia is using this method to instantly gain the revenue to start moving in on China’s hold on bitcoin mining.
Currently, mining bitcoin is a time consuming and expensive process, which generally requires mining pools to conduct the work. Hydroelectrical power is cheap in many parts of China, and this provides fertile ground for ripe bitcoin mining operations. However, mining in Russia may also prove comparatively inexpensive. The country has 20 gigawatts of excess power, according to the Fortune Magazine article. This is allegedly less costly than China’s power output. The website clarified:
Russia has 20 gigawatts of excess power capacity, with consumer electricity prices as low as 80 kopeks (1.3 cents) per kilowatt hour, which is less than in China, RMC said in the presentation.
No telling which superpower will win in the end, though. China still has the first mover advantage in terms of crypto-mining expertise and experience.
Do you believe Russia will be able to surpass China in bitcoin mining? How do you see cryptocurrency evolving as we move into the future? Share your thoughts in the comments section below!
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