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Russia’s Largest Bitcoin Miner BitRiver Enters Bankruptcy Proceedings: Report

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Russia’s Largest Bitcoin Miner BitRiver Enters Bankruptcy Proceedings: Report


The company’s founder and CEO, Igor Runets, was placed under house arrest in connection with multiple tax evasion charges.

BitRiver, Russia’s largest Bitcoin miner, is on the verge of collapse amid mounting financial and legal problems. Courts have placed its parent company, Fox Group of Companies, under observation as debts and unpaid obligations pile up.

One of the disputes driving the court action involves Infrastructure of Siberia. The company is seeking more than $9 million after BitRiver failed to deliver mining equipment. The case stems from a large advance payment for hardware that was never supplied. This led to a lawsuit and a ruling in favor of the energy firm.

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Operational Bans and Energy Disputes

Operational bans have hit BitRiver’s regional sites hard. Mining centers in Irkutsk and Buryatia remain offline due to government restrictions. In addition, a 40 MW facility in Ingushetia was shut down by authorities for violating local rules.

These shutdowns have worsened the company’s financial strain, coming alongside rising disputes over unpaid electricity bills. Energy suppliers have filed claims totaling hundreds of millions of rubles. Some also lost trading rights after nonpayment, further restricting BitRiver’s ability to operate.

Leadership issues have added to the pressure. The company’s founder and CEO, Igor Runets, was placed under house arrest in connection with multiple tax evasion charges. Authorities allege that he attempted to conceal company assets to avoid paying taxes, a claim that Runets and his legal team have denied.

BitRiver’s Struggles Amid Sector Growth

BitRiver has also struggled under international pressure. US sanctions and partner exits have cut access to foreign markets. Japanese firms, including SBI, also withdrew from Russia, limiting financial support and supply channels.

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The company once managed over 175,000 rigs across 15 centers, generating $129 million in revenue last year. Its rapid decline highlights the fragile balance between regulatory, financial, and operational pressures in Russia’s mining industry.

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Despite BitRiver’s setbacks, Russia’s crypto mining sector continues to expand. Grid-connected mining capacity rose 33% in 2025 to 4 GW, reflecting strong domestic demand for industrial mining infrastructure.

Analysts say BitRiver’s bankruptcy could signal broader challenges for large-scale miners operating in restrictive regions. Yet the sector’s continued growth shows that Russia remains a major player in global Bitcoin mining, even as individual companies falter.

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Pumpfun Unveils Investment Arm and $3 Million Hackathon

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Pumpfun Unveils Investment Arm and $3 Million Hackathon


PUMP rallied as much as 10% but erased its gains as crypto markets dipped.

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Spot Bitcoin ETF AUM Hits Lowest Level Since April 2025

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Spot Bitcoin ETF AUM Hits Lowest Level Since April 2025

Assets in spot Bitcoin (BTC) ETFs slipped below $100 billion on Tuesday following a fresh $272 million in outflows.

According to data from SoSoValue, the move marked the first time spot Bitcoin ETF assets under management have fallen below that level since April 2025, after peaking at about $168 billion in October

The drop came amid a broader crypto market sell-off, with Bitcoin sliding below $74,000 on Tuesday. The global cryptocurrency market capitalization fell from $3.11 trillion to $2.64 trillion over the past week, according to CoinGecko.

Altcoin funds secure modest inflows

The latest outflows from spot Bitcoin ETFs followed a brief rebound in flows on Monday, when the products attracted $562 million in net inflows.

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Still, Bitcoin funds resumed losses on Tuesday, pushing year-to-date outflows to almost $1.3 billion, coming in line with ongoing market volatility.

Spot Bitcoin ETF flows since Jan. 26, 2026. Source: SoSoValue

By contrast, ETFs tracking altcoins such as Ether (ETH), XRP (XRP) and Solana (SOL) recorded modest inflows of $14 million, $19.6 million and $1.2 million, respectively.

Is institutional adoption moving beyond ETFs?

The ongoing sell-off in Bitcoin ETFs comes as BTC trades below the ETF creation cost basis of $84,000, suggesting new ETF shares are being issued at a loss and placing pressure on fund flows.

Market observers say that the slump is unlikely to trigger further mass sell-offs in ETFs.

“My guess is vast majority of assets in spot BTC ETFs stay put regardless,” ETF analyst Nate Geraci wrote on X on Monday.

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Source: Nate Geraci

Thomas Restout, CEO of institutional liquidity provider B2C2, echoed the sentiment, noting that institutional ETF investors are generally resilient. Still, he hinted that a shift toward onchain trading may be underway.

Related: VistaShares launches Treasury ETF with options-based Bitcoin exposure

“The benefit of institutions coming in and buying ETFs is they’re far more resilient. They will sit on their views and positions for longer,” Restout said in a Rulematch Spot On podcast on Monday.

“I think the next level of transformation is institutions actually trading crypto, rather than just using securitized ETFs. We’re expecting the next wave of institutions to be the ones trading the underlying assets directly,” he noted.