Media reports suggest possible bankruptcy of BitRiver - ForkLog: cryptocurrencies, AI, singularity, future

Froklog · 2026-02-02T08:44:24+00:00

The arbitration court in the Sverdlovsk region has initiated bankruptcy proceedings for BitRiver, exacerbated by debts exceeding 700 million rubles. The company faces claims from major creditors, while its leadership and operations have significantly declined.

Froklog

2026-02-02 08:44:24

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# Media reports suggest possible bankruptcy of BitRiver

The Arbitration Court of Sverdlovsk Region has initiated a supervision procedure (the first stage of bankruptcy) against LLC “Group of Companies ‘Fox’” — owner of 98% of UK “BitRiver”. This was reported by “Kommersant”

The claim was filed by the En+ structure — “Infrastructure of Siberia”. The firm demands to recover more than 700 million rubles from the mining operator BitRiver. The amount includes an unpaid advance and a penalty for undelivered equipment under contracts for 2023-2024.

In April 2025, the Arbitration Court of Irkutsk Region already ordered BitRiver to pay the debt, but the operator did not fulfill the decision due to lack of assets. This became the basis for initiating bankruptcy proceedings.

Sources from the publication believe that the problems may have started after paying VAT for the first quarter of 2024 — about 400 million rubles.

Additional Difficulties

The situation is worsened by claims from other major creditors, including “Rosseti”. “En+ Sales” demands 133 million rubles in penalties for electricity, and Irkutsk Electric Grid Company — 640 million rubles, according to “Kommersant”.

In favor of NTEK (a structure of “Nornickel”), a decision has already been made to pay 168 million rubles of debt for electricity.

According to the publication, by the end of 2025, about 80% of top managers and some employees have left BitRiver. Many company offices are closed, and equipment and documentation have been removed, journalists claim.

According to a source, negotiations are underway regarding changing the owner and transferring remaining assets.

On January 31, the Zamoskvoretsky Court of Moscow placed BitRiver founder Igor Runtz under house arrest, reports “TASS” citing law enforcement agencies. He was accused of concealing funds for tax payments, a source from the agency said. Details of the case are not disclosed.

Recall that in 2024, BitRiver, in cooperation with oil and gas companies, processed over 150 million cubic meters of associated petroleum gas (APG) into electricity for Bitcoin mining.

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