Russia is now the second largest Bitcoin miner after the U.S., according to a report by Russian media Kommersant. Russia’s new ranking comes amid moves by the U.S. to tax and regulate crypto mining at both state and federal levels, resulting in a less welcoming environment for the industry in the U.S.

Russia bagged the second position globally in terms of its mining capacity between January and March, at 1 gigawatt (GW), the media report quoted BitRiver, a turnkey solutions provider for cryptocurrency mining.

The U.S. led with 3-4 GW of mining capacity. Others in the top 10 include the Persian Gulf with 700 MW, Canada with 400 MW, and Malaysia with 300 MW, the report said.

(by Pradipta Mukherjee)