Abkhaz authorities say they are in talks with Russia over electricity supplies for miners

The authorities of Abkhazia are in talks with Russia on electricity supplies to enable mining. This was stated by Deputy Prime Minister and Economy Minister Kristina Ozgan, according to «Апсныпресс».

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She stressed that cryptocurrency mining activities had been restricted due to a lack of electricity.

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Ozgan noted that before the ban on importing mining equipment into Abkhazia, more than 66,000 devices had been imported.

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She said that the government is currently working on enabling conditions for miners. To this end, the plan includes organizing electricity supplies from Russia and creating centers to house the equipment.

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«We had representatives from the Russian side who studied the technical scheme of the supplies. At the moment, a draft contract has been sent to us, which we are working on,» Ozgan said.

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She added that the authorities intend to set a tariff for electricity for miners and encourage citizens to pay for it.

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To implement these plans, Abkhazia wants to legalize the connection of cryptocurrency mining equipment to the power grids, developing a framework governing interactions between miners and the power-supply company.

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As reported, at the end of 2020 Abkhazia banned mining until June 1, 2021. The ban was later extended until 2022, and penalties and criminal liability for illegal cryptocurrency mining were established.

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