A Russian Nuclear Plant Is Renting Space to Energy-Hungry Bitcoin Miners

UDOMLYA, Russia - A state-owned nuclear power plant in Russia may soon fuel a bitcoin mining hub.

Late last month, Rosatom State Atomic Energy Corporation opened a mining farm near the Kalinin nuclear plant in Udomlya, 200 miles northwest of Moscow.

"Both data centers and miners are large energy consumers with a stable demand," Nemchenkov said.

Rosatom is the first big government-related entity to embrace miners in Russia, the world's eleventh-largest economy, according to the IMF and the World Bank.

The Kalinin plant is another example of miners in Russia nesting close to old industrial sites, like the abandoned factories in Siberia that are attracting miners from all over the world.

Electricity for miners will cost 4 to 5 cents per kilowatt-hour - not the cheapest price you can find around the globe, as rates lower than 4 cents can be found in some regions of China and Kazakhstan.

Rosenergoatom wants to market the project, first of all, as a legitimate, reputable way to mine cryptocurrency, right on the energy producer's property.

To find clients, Rosenergoatom partnered with ECOS-M, a mining hotel firm that serves as an intermediary between the venue and miners.

Founded in 2017 in Armenia, ECOS-M started by building a mining venue near the country's Hrazdan thermal power plant.

Rosenergoatom seems serious about working with miners: According to Nemchenkov, there will be an option to hire the nuclear giant's personnel to take care of the mining containers and leverage its engineering and industrial safety expertise.