The BitRiver CEO, Igor Runets, is said to have a net worth of $230m, as per the Bloomberg report. Russian crypto mining also appears to be growing more rapidly than its equivalent in the United States, a development that could be associated with the increasing possible revenue growth.
BitRiver, the largest industrial crypto mining company in Russia, has been actively increasing its Bitcoin mining capacities nationwide.
The valuation of $230 million is derived from Runets' current market value of the company and the expected costs of the new data centers. Moreover, these centers are part of Bitriver's plan to improve Russia's position in crypto mining internationally.
The firm plans to increase cryptocurrency mining capacity by an extra 1MW soon, implying a healthy demand growth trend to meet both national and international markets.
Russia authorized industrial crypto mining as a legal business activity on September 1, offering substantial support to the overwhelmed industry during geopolitical conflicts. This new status has presumably expanded investment and might promote additional participation from Russian banks in the sector.
Regarding its strategic development, BitRiver is also using crypto mining as the basis for other industries, one of which is the artificial intelligence industry, which could lead to technological advancement in Russia.
Experts in the field also state that Russian authorities' attention not only legalizes the activity but also places crypto mining at the core of the country's digital economy. Additionally, Runets has suggested that other state IT initiatives could utilize the newly planned data centers, making the growth of BitRiver consistent with state interests.
Runets stated that the global community, specifically Western countries, has started recognizing Russia's growing leadership in the crypto-mining business. Cryptocurrency specialists from the USA have regarded Russia's intent to legalize crypto mining as an effort to make cross-border transactions easier, especially amid the sanctions imposed by the US.
In addition, there are significant business successions: key Russian actors such as Gazprom intend to build significant mining capacity. This is in line with Runets' education and connections from Stanford University, where he initially invested in crypto mining and developed the initial clients, which enabled the growth of BitRiver in the early stages.