Russia Proposes Regional Crypto Mining Restrictions

Although the crypto mining industry has been declared pertinent for Russia by the authorities, their actions demonstrate that the development of other essential activities takes precedence over this. The Russian Energy Ministry has submitted a proposal that would impact the feasibility of these operations in specific regions, as reported by TASS, the official Russian news agency.

Russia Decition on Crypto Mining

According to an anonymous source, the proposition was officially sanctioned and would commence the implementation of these limitations in December of this year. The source emphasized that the Energy Ministry has submitted a proposal, which will be reviewed at the governmental commission meeting on November 18.

The Energy Ministry stated that the potential forthcoming restrictions were justified by the anticipated energy shortage periods in certain regions. According to the Ministry, it was expedient to prohibit the mining of digital currency in regions with subsidized electricity prices and in areas that were subject to critical regulatory and fiscal parameters during anticipated shortages.

This measure is expected to have an impact on the following regions: the Irkutsk Region, Buryatia, the Trans-Baikal region, Karachay-Circassian region, Kabardino-Balkaria region, North Ossetia-Alania region, Ingushetia, Chechnya, Dagestan, Kherson region, Zaporizhzhia region, Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), and Lugansk People’s Republic (LPR).

The mining operators in these regions would be affected by these from December 1, 2024, to March 15, 2025. Subsequently, mining would be prohibited in these regions from November to March annually until 2031.

The decision to restrict crypto mining activities at the state level is not unexpected. In light of the electricity shortages in regions such as Siberia, Russian Deputy Energy Minister Yevgeny Grabchak declared last month that these restrictions would be necessary. He observed at the time that the Russian state would be unable to provide “large capacities to anyone in the long term to 2030.”