Russia to include crypto payments in balance-of-payments data as mining called a “hidden export”

first published 2025-12-04T09:40:16Z

Senior economic adviser Maxim Oreshkin says digital assets are now part of Russia’s trade flows and should be included in official balance-of-payments data, calling Bitcoin mining an “undervalued export.” Russia controls ~15.5% of global Bitcoin hashrate, mined ~54,000 BTC in 2023 and ~35,000 BTC in 2024, with mining revenues around $12.9M/day and >$1.3B invested in infrastructure. The central bank and finance ministry have agreed to legalize crypto payments for foreign economic activity and are running a confidential sandbox for cross-border digital-asset deals.

AI Analysis

Oreshkin’s call to include crypto in balance-of-payments and his characterization of BTC mining as an export is pro-adoption; factual metrics (15.5% hashrate, ~54k BTC mined in 2023, ~35k in 2024, ~$12.9M/day revenues, >$1.3B invested) and agreement by the central bank and finance ministry to legalize crypto payments and run a confidential sandbox support measurable increases in Russia’s crypto trade activity. These are structural, policy-level developments that are bullish for on-chain flows but are not immediate price events.

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