Members of Russia’s vast cryptocurrency mining industry may soon be able to take out loans backed by Bitcoin.
The idea, proposed by one of Russia’s systemically important banks, comes amid increased preparations to properly regulate cryptocurrency relations in the country.
Moscow legalized cryptocurrency mining a year ago, but has not yet taken similar measures for all other operations using minted digital coins.
Russian banks highlight demand for Bitcoin-backed loans
A senior representative of a medium-sized Russian bank pointed out that credit institutions are recording strong demand for loans backed by cryptocurrencies.
Maria Brudonova, director of compliance at Sovcombank, one of Russia’s 13 systemically important banks, says crypto-backed lending has a future in Russia, especially in the recently regulated mining sector.
Brudonova made the comments at this week’s fintech forum Finopolis 2025. She said this at a session hosted by Sovcombank titled “Hashrate secured by collateral: How banks are turning mining into an investment.”
“We believe there is a need for micro-loans backed by digital financial assets, including in the mining industry.”
The executive pointed to the large number of small-scale mining companies across Russia that are in need of funding and suggested that this type of funding could be used to finance infrastructure projects.
When Moscow legalized the minting of digital currencies in 2024, companies and individual entrepreneurs involved in the newly permitted industrial activities were required to register with the country’s Federal Tax Service (FNS).
However, miners whose monthly electricity consumption does not exceed 6,000 kWh are not required to do so, and are largely invisible to Russian authorities, often avoiding taxation.
Government estimates show that less than a third of mining operations currently active in the country are registered, so helping them grow could mean more companies emerge from the shadows.
A report from Cryptopolitan recently revealed that Russia loses more than $120 million a year in uncollected taxes from illegal or unregistered crypto farms.
“We are truly building the expertise to develop products that are popular with miners,” Brudonova said, as reported by TASS, elaborating:
“Miners can take out loans using financial assets such as Bitcoin as collateral, put the money into circulation, and wait for favorable market conditions to sell their mined Bitcoins.”
She also stressed that “it is important that the industry develops in a civilized way”, adding:
“We are early in this journey, but this financing is fairly common globally. There is definitely potential for synergies like this between banks and miners.”
New law could open the door to crypto-backed loans in Russia
However, most crypto-related transactions remain outside the law in Russia, and regulators have so far maintained a fairly conservative approach when it comes to things like Bitcoin.
For example, Brudonova mentioned both digital financial assets (DFA) and Bitcoin in her statement, but Russia’s current DFA law from 2021 does not cover decentralized cryptocurrencies, as pointed out in a report by business news portal RBC.
Nevertheless, authorities in Moscow signaled this week that the status quo is about to change, with the Central Bank of Russia announcing its intention to allow banks to operate in cryptocurrencies, with a new cryptocurrency law expected to be adopted in 2026.
Until then, official crypto transactions will be limited to the framework of an “experimental legal regime” set up to facilitate crypto payments for sanctioned Russian companies and give “highly qualified” investors access to crypto investments.
The vast Russian Federation, blessed with abundant energy resources and a cool climate, has become a major mining hotspot in recent years and currently ranks as one of the world’s top crypto mining destinations in terms of market and hashrate share.
Using mined cryptocurrencies as collateral for loans is an established practice in the United States, the world leader in the industry. Loans using mining equipment as collateral are also widely used in local businesses.
