Russian President Vladimir Putin has told a group of senior Russian business figures that Moscow and the United States are in talks on possible joint management of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant and that Washington has shown interest in using the facility for cryptocurrency mining, according to Russian media outlet Kommersant.
On December 25, at a meeting with business representatives, Putin said Russian and United States officials were studying a plan that would place the Zaporizhzhia plant under some form of shared control. The United States was discussing the proposed joint management without Ukraine’s involvement, the head of state confirmed.
During the meeting, Putin was cited as saying that the American side had expressed interest in mining activities linked to the plant and had discussed the possibility of using part of its electricity output for supplies to Ukrainian territory. However, he did not specify what kind of mining operations were being considered or how such a scheme would be structured.
Nuclear-powered Bitcoin Mining Not a New Idea
The notion of using nuclear power to mine bitcoin has surfaced elsewhere before the Zaporizhzhia discussions. In France, the far-right has promoted a plan to use surplus electricity from nuclear plants for cryptocurrency mining.
In August, French newspaper Le Monde reported that the party is preparing a draft law that would allow bitcoin mining using excess power from the country’s nuclear fleet. During a visit to the Flamanville nuclear power plant in Normandy on March 11, party leader Marine Le Pen voiced support for installing high-performance computers at sites operated by state utility EDF.
From Powerhouse to Political Pawn: Could Crypto Mining Be Its Next Role
Zaporizhzhia is the largest nuclear power plant in Europe, and it once supplied a substantial share of Ukraine’s electricity. Russian forces took control of the station in 2022, and it has since been taken out of production, with its reactors placed in long-term shutdown and the site dependent on external power to keep safety systems running.
Since its shutdown, the plant has become both an energy asset and a political bargaining chip. Control of Zaporizhzhia is one of the most sensitive issues in any discussion of a future settlement, with Ukraine insisting on the return of the site and international inspectors warning about repeated losses of power and risks from nearby fighting.
In technical terms, using a large nuclear station to feed power-hungry computing, such as cryptocurrency mining, could be efficient, since nuclear reactors are designed to run steadily at high output, and miners seek stable, low-cost electricity.
In practice, the wartime condition of Zaporizhzhia, its shutdown status, unresolved safety concerns, and extensive sanctions on Russian energy and financial projects make such a plan difficult to realize. For now, the idea of crypto mining at the plant appears more like a political signal than a realistic commercial project.
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