Russian mining should be evaluated not by the number of farms and the volume of coins mined, but by the real benefit it brings to the country's economy. This proposal was put forward by Alexander Brazhnikov, Executive Director of the Russian Association of the Crypto Industry and Blockchain (RACIB).

In his opinion, the extraction of digital assets should become only the first link in a chain connecting energy, industry, computing, and the legal circulation of cryptocurrency.

Mining as part of the production chain

Brazhnikov noted that the crypto economy cannot be reduced to extraction alone. He described a model in which energy is converted into computing and products, then into digital assets, their legal sale, and the reinvestment of the proceeds. If the chain breaks at the extraction stage and the fate of the earned money remains behind the scenes, a full-fledged development strategy does not emerge.

The head of the association proposed planning all links at once. An energy site should be considered together with its future consumer, and a computing facility together with the economics of its operation. At the same time, he said, the conversation about the industry should begin not with a demand for cheap electricity, but with an analysis of a specific territory: whether there is free capacity, at what hours it is available, how much connection will cost, and whether the supply to residents and existing plants will suffer.

He outlined specific tasks for different types of energy:

  • in coal regions, generation needs to be modernized and the economic result compared with environmental costs;
  • for gas power, distributed generation at industrial sites with useful use of heat is promising;
  • in hydropower, a constant surplus of electricity cannot be built into the model due to seasonality;
  • and the nuclear direction requires long-term linkage with industry and high-performance computing.

Mining, Brazhnikov believes, should work as a managed load and help the energy system. The readiness to reduce consumption during peak periods must be secured by equipment and contracts, and the costs of networks and reserving should not be shifted onto the population.

He named the net effect for the economy as the main criterion for a project's success: investment, jobs, taxes, orders for Russian manufacturers, rather than the gross revenue of an individual miner.

Separately, the head of RACIB warned against conflating mining and computing for artificial intelligence. Mining equipment cannot simply be switched to AI tasks — these are different technologies. It can only be a matter of cooperation at the level of sites, energy, and personnel, and each such project must be evaluated separately.

Transparent rules and a center for pilot projects

The second part of the model concerns the circulation of digital assets. Brazhnikov stated that a bona fide market participant needs the ability to confirm the origin of coins, keep correct records, and work with clear counterparty liability. At the same time, he spoke out against excessive data disclosure: information for state control, data for verification by a partner, and data that should not become public should be clearly separated.

In his opinion, the development of service quality standards and dispute resolution procedures should be handled by the Council of the self-regulatory organization of the crypto market. He emphasized that such a structure does not replace state permits and supervision.

Brazhnikov named the ISKRA platform (Innovative Modern Creative Robotic Assembly) as a practical tool. It should bring together energy specialists, industrialists, miners, equipment manufacturers, investors, and regional representatives into working consortia where each participant has its own area of responsibility. On this platform, he proposed creating the "National Mining Ecosystem" center, which will evaluate sites, form a portfolio of investment projects, prepare standard solutions, and support pilots. This is not a new exchange and not a new regulator, the head of the association clarified, but a coordination mechanism.

He proposed starting with a limited number of pilot sites with full justification and measurable indicators. After launch, the calculated figures will be compared with actual ones, successful solutions will be replicated, and unsuccessful ones will be closed.

For investors and miners, such a model means that access to energy and support in the regions may be tied to the obligations of a specific project rather than to general benefits for the entire industry.

Cryptalist analysis: RACIB's initiative reflects a shift in emphasis from a purely extraction-based model to the integration of mining into industrial and energy chains, which aligns with the global trend toward greater transparency and economic responsibility in the industry. For the market, this is a signal of movement toward a more mature institutional framework, where the cost of mining will be determined not only by the price of electricity but also by its contribution to the regional economy. Such approaches can reduce regulatory risks and increase the sector's attractiveness for long-term capital.