BitRiver, Russia’s largest Bitcoin mining company, is currently facing a serious bankruptcy crisis.
A Russian arbitration court specifically in the Sverdlovsk Region has initiated bankruptcy observation/monitoring proceedings (the initial stage of insolvency) against Fox Group of Companies LLC, the parent entity that owns 98% of BitRiver’s management company.
This was triggered by a creditor claim from “Siberian Infrastructure”, a subsidiary of the En+ Group associated with energy oligarch Oleg Deripaska, seeking repayment of over $9.2 million approximately 700 million rubles.
The debt stems from unpaid advances and penalties related to undelivered equipment under contracts from 2023-2024, amid prior court orders that BitRiver failed to satisfy due to lack of assets. Founder and CEO Igor Runets has been placed under house arrest on charges of tax evasion (multiple counts, allegedly involving concealment of assets worth significant sums).
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This detention occurred recently reported over the weekend leading into today. The company has faced ongoing challenges since U.S. sanctions in 2022 following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, including withdrawal of investments, unpaid wages in 2024, equipment-related disputes, regional mining restrictions, power debts, and shutdowns of several data centers.
BitRiver, founded in 2017, grew to operate around 15 data centers in Siberia with 533 MW capacity and over 175,000 servers, leveraging cheap hydroelectric power and cold climate for efficient mining. It provided hosting services but has been hit hard by geopolitical and financial pressures.
This places significant uncertainty on clients/partners using its infrastructure, though the direct impact on global Bitcoin hashrate remains unclear at this stage. Reports describe it as a potential “collapse” or major shakeup in the sector.
The impact of BitRiver’s bankruptcy crisis on the global Bitcoin hashrate is likely limited and temporary, representing only a small fraction (around 1-2%) of the network’s total computing power as of February 2026.
BitRiver operates approximately 533 MW of capacity across its 15 data centers in Siberia, hosting over 175,000 mining rigs primarily for third-party clients via hosting services, though it also runs some proprietary operations.
This makes it Russia’s largest single operator and historically one of the biggest in the country. Russia as a whole holds a substantial share of global hashrate—estimated at 16.4% roughly 175 EH/s as of early 2026, according to Hashrate Index data from late 2025/early 2026.
The global Bitcoin network hashrate currently fluctuates around 835-960 EH/s with recent 7-day averages in the 850-900 EH/s range, per sources CoinWarz, Minerstat, and Hashrate Index. To estimate BitRiver’s contribution: Modern efficient miners achieve roughly 20-30 J/TH efficiency, but averages across fleets are often higher.
At 533 MW, assuming an average efficiency of ~25-30 J/TH, conservative for a mix of hardware, this equates to roughly 18-21 EH/s of hashrate potential if fully utilized. However, not all capacity is always at 100% utilization due to power constraints, maintenance, or client variations.
Real-world contributions are likely lower, and BitRiver’s sanctioned status since 2022 has already reduced its peak influence e.g., major client losses like SBI in 2023 led to earlier hashrate drops. Thus, even in a worst-case full offline scenario, BitRiver’s shutdown would remove ~1-2.5% of global hashrate (most estimates lean toward the lower end given partial operations and Russia’s broader ecosystem).
Russia’s mining sector remains robust and growing — Overall connected mining/data center capacity reached ~4 GW in 2025 up 33% YoY, driven by cheap hydropower/gas and domestic expansion. Other operators like Intelion, BitCluster, or newer projects can absorb displaced rigs/clients.
Hashrate is highly mobile — Miners frequently relocate hardware to cheaper/available power sources. Any BitRiver-hosted rigs could migrate elsewhere in Russia or abroad if bankruptcy leads to asset sales/liquidation.
Bitcoin hashrate has seen larger drops before e.g., 12%+ drawdowns in late 2025/early 2026 due to weather/other factors without major disruption. Difficulty adjusts downward automatically, next expected ~February 7-8, 2026, potentially -3% or more recently, restoring block times and miner profitability for survivors.
No immediate mass offline reported — Proceedings are in the observation/monitoring stage not full liquidation, and some operations may continue under administration. CEO Igor Runets’ house arrest adds uncertainty, but no widespread shutdowns are confirmed yet.
While BitRiver’s troubles highlight ongoing geopolitical/financial pressures on Russian mining, the global Bitcoin network’s hashrate should experience only a minor, short-lived dip—if any measurable effect at all—given the sector’s scale and adaptability. The situation remains fluid; monitor for updates on asset transfers or client migrations.