A Russian power firm has launched the nation’s first bitcoin mining-related closed-end mutual investment fund (CEF).
The Russian newspaper Vedomosti reported that the fund is called Crypto Factory. It is the brainchild of the Penza-based gas power unit provider Power Systems and the financial management firm Finam.
Only qualified investors will be allowed access to the fund. Investors’ money will go toward powering BTC mining rigs on farms that use natural gas.
The fund’s operators will then sell the Bitcoin (BTC) they mine and provide regular payouts to the investors.
Russian Power Firm’s BTC Mining CEF
In the financial world, CEFs usually refer to investment funds that issue a fixed number of shares only once, typically during an initial offering.
Unlike traditional open-ended funds, their issuers do not continuously issue or redeem shares. Instead, CEF shares are traded on a stock exchange, much like individual stocks.
Power Systems said that it would send investors analytics data. It will also let them access CCTV camera feeds that monitor work at the mining farms.
The fund’s term is five years, and with an initial capital worth 850 million rubles (around $11 million. Potential investors must put a minimum of 5 million rubles ($63,719) into the fund, the company said.
The power firm says its basic financial model assumes a return of 49% per annum. It also promised 10% per year interim payments, with a quarterly frequency.
Finam said that the shares would not be made available on secondary markets. It said that its commission fee would be 1% of the average annual value of the fund’s net assets.
The #crypto market is down again today, and #BTC fell below $105,000. The market is likely to be affected by the #US Fed meeting and the US involvement in #Israel’s attack on #Iran.#Bitcoin #ETHhttps://t.co/rKhcwcEJXl
— Cryptonews.com (@cryptonews) June 18, 2025
Investors ‘Won’t Make Money if BTC Prices Drop Below $35k’
A Power Systems executive said that the fund would reach a break-even point if Bitcoin prices do not fall below $35,000 in the next five years.
Providing BTC prices do not drop below this rate, investors could expect to make money from their stakes, the company said.
The exact cost of mining BTC in Russia remains unclear, with power prices varying from region to region.
Experts said at the end of the past financial year that US miners spent an average of $82,162 to mine BTC 1.
Watch: The EU proposed severing decades-old energy relations with Russia by implementing legally binding measures to cut off its imports of Russian gas and liquefied natural gas imports by the end of 2027 https://t.co/u2PZht3lCh pic.twitter.com/2awYRKnktV
— Reuters Business (@ReutersBiz) June 18, 2025
Russia: Growing Bullish on Bitcoin?
Having remained relatively cautious about allowing investors access to crypto-related financial products in the past, Moscow has become decidedly more bullish in 2025.
At the end of May, the Russian Central Bank allowed financial institutions to offer qualified investors access to crypto derivative products.
And earlier this month, the Moscow Exchange began offering a Bitcoin futures contract product for qualified investors.
The product is linked to BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT). It is the exchange’s first crypto-related product.
Power Systems, founded in 2005, has recently turned its attention to gas-powered crypto mining operations, using associated gas.
The latter often releases during oil drilling operations. Drillers usually flare this gas on site if they cannot find an immediate use for it.
The firm claimed that mining BTC at gas fields “helps reduce costs.” It added that this not only makes mining cheaper, but also helps reduce miners’ carbon footprints.
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