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Tim Alper
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Tim Alper
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Abkhazia crypto miners are once again blamed for the de facto state’s ongoing energy crisis, with officials claiming that emergency Russian electricity supplies are running low.
The crisis, the South Caucus republic claimed, could come to a head next month as “humanitarian electricity” supplies from Moscow begin to dwindle.
Previous reports have claimed that most miners in Abkhazia focus their efforts and attention on Bitcoin.
Abkhazia Crypto Miners: Out of Power by February?
The media outlet 93.ru reported that the current “supplies of electricity from Russia” will only “last until February 18” at “Abkhazia’s current consumption rate, per Timur Dzhindzholiya, the head of power provider Chernomorenergo.
Dzhindzholiya was speaking at a meeting of the Abkhazia Energy Security Council. In late December, Moscow agreed to provide a “327 million kilowatt hours humanitarian flow of electricity.”
Dzhindzholiya said that it was impossible to “stretch” the emergency electricity supplies “for a long time.” As such, the provider decided has to extend existing rolling blackout programs to six hours per day.
Tensions With Moscow
The republic has declared independence from Georgia and is backed by Russia, although most Western nations consider it a breakaway part of Georgia.
In recent months, however, relations between the Abkhazia government and Moscow have deteriorated. Russia has responded by limiting its supply of aid.
Crypto mining has boomed in Abkhazia, despite government efforts to ban or limit mining. This has led to years of rolling blackouts in the winter months.
A torrid end to 2024 saw the Abkhazia government clash with Moscow, disrupting the cross-border flow of “emergency power” to the republic.
Hydroelectric Power Plant Problems Persist
The de facto state’s sole major hydroelectric power plant – only half of which is in Abkhazia – has also been shut down due to dangerously low reservoir water levels.
The media outlet wrote that the government is now “powerless” to stop crypto miners. The Abkhazia Minister of Internal Affairs Robert Kiut said that miners were using a “loophole to circumvent the law.”
Abkhazia law dictates that no landowner can consume more than 300 kilowatts. But miners can share ownership of larger crypto mining “farms” to “share consumption” and “avoid criminal liability,” the minister said.
The media outlet wrote that “residents of Abkhazia” believe that “law enforcement agencies know perfectly well where crypto mining farms are located and who owns them.” But, the residents claim, “no real effort is being made to stop them.”
This has led to fury in Russia, with outraged citizens and media outlets claiming that Abkahzia’s villages, forests, and mountains are “buzzing” with the sound of crypto mining rigs.
Russian taxpayers are footing the bill, they claim, at a time when electricity prices in many parts of the Russian Federation are rising.
The media outlet noted that the future of the crisis “will depend on the intensity of consumption and weather conditions.”
“After we have used all the emergency supplies from Russia, Abkhazia will need another 150 million kilowatts to last until the hydroelectric power station starts operating at full capacity again.”
Timur Dzhindzholiya, Chernomorenergo
Miners Using Yet More Power
Dzhindzholiya said that crypto mining “farms” now “consume up to 500 thousand kilowatts” per day.
The outlet added that, following the handover of emergency Russian electricity, Abkhazia crypto miners have “become even more active than ever.”
The outlet noted that an “analysis of electricity consumption in different regions” confirmed that Abkhazia-based miners had stepped up their efforts.
Power engineers, meanwhile, called for stricter measures to fight illegal crypto mining. Failing to act, they added, will see the de facto state “plunge into darkness.”
In December, Dzhindzholiya said that illegal miners are using “about 350 million kWh” of electricity per year.
