RACIB head: Number of mining firms in Russia rises 15% in H1

GUSEV, Kaliningrad Region, Aug 1 (PRIME) -- The number of Russian cryptocurrency mining companies increased by 15% in January–June to 75,000, Yury Pripachkin, president of the Russian Association of Cryptocurrency and Blockchain (RACIB), told reporters on Wednesday.

“The mining industry already employs 350,000 people. As of July 2018, Russia’s share on the global mining market amounted to about 6%, which is one percentage point more than a year earlier, while leading positions are held by the U.S. and Canada,” Pripachkin said.

“The number of cryptocurrency holders in Russia increased from 2.5 million people at the end of 2017 to 3 million at the end of the first half of 2018.”

Russia is running the risk of “losing the chance of becoming the digital financial leader.” “Digital money is reality already now, and Russia’s procrastination means loss of investment of up to 1 trillion rubles per year,” the expert said.

The top five countries by the volume of cryptocurrency trade in January–March were Malta, Belize, Seychelles, the U.S., and South Korea, Pripachkin said, quoting Morgan Stanley data. The top five countries with multiple bourses were the U.K., Hong Kong, the U.S., Singapore, and Turkey.

“Russia cannot cement is position either in trade or in bourse location,” the expert said.

(62.3497 rubles – U.S. $1)

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