Opposition politician and former president of the National Bank Roman Gotsiridze stated that crypto farms in Georgia create a dangerous load on the country’s energy sector, contribute almost nothing to the budget, and rely on tax and tariff privileges.
Gotsiridze Accused Crypto Mining of Putting Pressure on the Energy Sector
According to Roman Gotsiridze, cryptocurrency and mining themselves should not be a prohibited field if the business operates on general terms, competes with other industries, and brings real income to the country. However, as the politician claims, the situation in Georgia is different: crypto mining companies are exempt from taxes and receive electricity on preferential terms.
According to Gotsiridze, crypto farms contribute almost nothing to the budget but constantly put pressure on the energy system; without tax and energy benefits, such companies would quickly cease operations.
Gotsiridze calls such enterprises consumers that take resources from the energy system and the state budget. In his logic, the benefits of the regular economy are visible by several indicators:
- Investments.
- Taxes.
- Bank transactions.
- Movement of the US dollar or other currency.
In the case of crypto farms, the politician claims, the state receives disproportionately little compared to how much electricity is spent on mining digital assets, including Bitcoin.
About 6% of Electricity and Constant Load
Separately, Roman Gotsiridze emphasizes the operating mode of crypto farms. Such facilities, according to him, do not stop in winter or summer and keep the energy system under a stable load around the clock. The politician links this to the increasing number of accidents in the energy infrastructure.
Gotsiridze’s estimates of the load are as follows:
- Indicator: share of electricity produced in Georgia. Value: about 6%. Comment: taking into account Abkhazia’s consumption, the indicator, according to Gotsiridze, becomes higher.
- Indicator: annual consumption of crypto farms. Value: about 1 billion kilowatt-hours. Comment: the politician compares this volume to Batumi’s annual consumption and considers such a load too serious for the minimal return to the budget.
Political Context and the Demand for a Ban
Gotsiridze also states that representatives of the business clan of the ruling party “Georgian Dream” are behind the crypto farms. He links the largest crypto farm in the Gldani district to Bidzina Ivanishvili, claiming that he was at its foundation.
Major technology players, including Bitfury, are known in the mining market in general, but at the center of Gotsiridze’s statement is not a particular brand, but the very model of how such facilities operate in Georgia:
- Preferential electricity.
- Tax relief.
- Constant load on the grid.
The dispute around mining has long gone beyond the narrow topic of cryptocurrencies: similar discussions about the price of energy for the industry are taking place in Europe and the United States of America. For Georgia, according to Gotsiridze, the main question is simpler: should the country support a business that consumes huge amounts of electricity but almost does not fill the budget.
Cryptocurrency mining in free industrial zones must be immediately banned, said Roman Gotsiridze.
Thus, the politician proposes not a targeted adjustment of conditions, but a tough solution: to remove crypto mining from free industrial zones and deprive the industry of a regime he considers unjustifiably privileged.
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