At Russia’s year-end State Council meeting on 25 December, the official topic was routine training of government staff.
However, according to reporting from Kommersant’s Andrei Kolesnikov, the real message coming out of the Kremlin points to a surprising new twist in U.S–Russia relations.
President Vladimir Putin reportedly said that the United States has shown interest in using a potential stake in the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) to run large-scale cryptocurrency mining.
If true, this would shift the plant’s role from a wartime frontline asset to a major piece of global digital infrastructure.
Bitcoin mining discussion begins
Instead of being only about Ukraine’s electricity supply or military control, the plant could become a bargaining chip in broader peace talks.
Turning it from a conflict zone into a crypto-mining hub would be an unusual mix of energy politics, digital economics, and high-level diplomacy.
Providing further insights on the matter, Kommersant reported,
“Vladimir Putin asserted that the Russian side is still ready to make the concessions that he made in Anchorage. In other words, that ‘Donbas is ours.'”
According to Kommersant’s reporter, the Kremlin is considering a high-risk territorial deal in which Putin still aims for full control of the Donbas region, but appears open to trading land outside it.
In this scenario, the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) would become a key bargaining tool.
The role of Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant
Russia has occupied the plant since March 2022. And yet, Ukrainian engineers, now required to take Russian passports, continue to run it, creating a form of “forced cooperation” that directly mirrors the joint-operation ideas appearing in peace talks.
Naturally, the main conflict now centers on who will manage the plant.
The U.S has reportedly proposed a three-way 33% split, placing American officials in charge of operations.
On the other hand, Ukraine has rejected any joint business with Russia. Instead, it is pushing for a 50-50 partnership with the U.S, giving Washington the authority to decide whether to allocate any of its share to Russia.
The irony, however, is that the ZNPP cannot produce power at all.
Its six reactors remain shut down. The plant depends on diesel generators, and thousands of Russian strikes have pushed Ukraine’s energy grid to the brink.
While Ukraine’s current crypto miners use only about 33 kW per hour, a fully restored ZNPP could support some of the world’s largest mining farms. And yet, safety risks, grid damage, and legal limits make a restart impossible for now.
More changes
Still, all of this fits into Russia’s dramatic shift in crypto policy.
Recently, Russia highlighted its plan of building a tightly controlled digital-asset system to launch by 1 July, 2026, allowing institutional investors broad access while limiting retail users to tests and a yearly 300,000-ruble cap.
By 2027, any crypto activity outside this regulated system will be treated like illegal banking.
Together, the ZNPP mining proposal and Russia’s new crypto rules reveal a clear pattern – Moscow isn’t embracing crypto for ideological reasons, but using it as a strategic tool.
Final Thoughts
- Putin’s willingness to trade land outside Donbas indicates selective flexibility, but also a desire to cement irreversible control over the region.
- Crypto mining emerging in nuclear-peace talks is a sign of how unpredictable 21st-century diplomacy has become.
