Russia is already the second world power in Bitcoin mining with 15.5% of the global hashrate.
The pact would include the supply of energy to Ukrainian territory at the initiative of Washington.
The President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, declared that the United States has shown interest in carrying out joint Bitcoin mining operations. Plans include managing the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine, the largest in Europe.
During a business meeting on December 24, Vladimir Putin showed how Washington’s agenda for Zaporozhye would be taking a radical turn. Instead of focusing exclusively on nuclear security, The White House would have in mind to use the power of the plant to mine Bitcoin, transforming the European plant into a strategic asset for the digital economy of both nations.
Putin did not mention Ukraine’s participation in the alleged talks, despite the fact that the headquarters are located in occupied Ukrainian territory.
The information, advanced by the diary Russian Kommersant, directly quotes correspondent Andrei Kolesnikov, who reported the president’s words: “The American side is interested in organizing cryptocurrency mining operations at the headquarters,” Putin stated. The Russian leader even suggested that, at the initiative of the United States, the possibility of supplying electricity to Ukraine from the same facilities is being considered.
However, as of December 26, 2025, there has been no official confirmation or comment from the US government on these claims. Putin’s statements remain a unilateral Russian version within the framework of talks on the future of the nuclear power plant.
Can Bitcoin be mined in a plant at risk?
The Zaporizhzhia plant is one of the most critical points since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Although it has six reactors of enormous capacity, the plant has not injected energy into the electrical grid for three years due to security risks. cited by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
In that sense, the ambition of use the plant for Bitcoin mining contrasts with the current technical situation of the plant. On December 13, the plant suffered a new loss of external power, forcing it to depend on emergency diesel generators to maintain the cooling of the reactors in a “cold shutdown” state. In this context of instability, the idea of maintaining an intensive digital mining operation seems, to say the least, an engineering challenge.
While all this is being defined, the truth is that Russia has climbed positions to become the second global player with the greatest computing power for Bitcoin mining, only behind the United States. Thanks to a surplus of hydroelectric energy and natural gas, Russian miners today contribute 15.5% of the world’s hashrate, as reported by CriptoNoticias.
“Russia has consolidated itself thanks to its previously underutilized energy infrastructure,” says analyst Jaran Mellerud. However, Mellerud warns that this growth has a ceiling: mining already consumes 3% of Russia’s total electricity. “The era of unlimited growth is over,” he says, which would explain why the Kremlin is looking for new sources of cheap energy, such as Zaporizhzhia.
However, as long as there is no public support from Washington, Putin’s statements on Zaporizhzhia remain a unilateral statement. This in the midst of a conflict that shows no signs of truce. For now, the plant remains under the surveillance of the IAEA, caught between the risk of a nuclear disaster and ambitions to use it for Bitcoin mining.