According to local reports, the Russian government will ban crypto mining activities in ten key areas following the recent enactment of new laws related to the sector. It will also implement seasonal bans in some areas and may add more areas to the list amid the ongoing power crisis in the country.
Key Regions Face 6-Year Mining Ban
On December 24, the local news agency TASS reported that the Russian government approved a list of regions and key areas where crypto mining activities will be banned from January 1, 2025. The ban aims to “maintain the balance of energy consumption” and will be effective. until March 15, 2031.
According to the report, the measure includes a six-year ban on all crypto mining activities and mining in Dagestan, Ingushetia, Kabardino-Balkaria, Karachay-Cherkessia, North Ossetia, Chechnya, Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics, Zaporizhzhya, and Kherson. regions.
In addition, the ban is temporarily extended to some areas of Irkutsk region, Buryatia, and Zabaikalsky Krai during peak power consumption periods. These areas will be closed periodically from January 1 to March 15, 2025, and from November 15 to March 15 in subsequent years.
The government also noted that the list of districts is not limited there and will be adjusted based on the possible development of the electricity sector. Experts told a local news agency that the ban is not only related to “the lack of electricity in the area but also the rights to pay electricity in other regions.”
Sergey Kolobanov, deputy director of the Center for the Economy of Fuels and Energy Sectors, explained that the ban “comes with the end of the transition period to eliminate this advantage.”
Crypto Mining Landscape in Russia
In September, Abdulmuslim Abdulmuslimov, the prime minister of the southern republic of Dagestan, urged the Russian government to take tough measures against illegal mining centers in the region, asking authorities to pay more attention to the changing methods miners are developing to work.
The following month, Deputy Minister of Energy Evgeny Grabchak revealed that the ongoing electricity crisis in the main areas makes providing large-scale power almost impossible until 2030. As reported by Bitcoinist, Evgeny Grabchak announced that all types of mining will be banned in certain regions of Russia. following a law recently signed by President Vladimir Putin.
In October, President Putin approved a law to regulate the sale of digital currency, which aims to increase government control over crypto mining activities. The law came into effect on November 1 and allows the Russian government to ban mining activities in certain regions or individual areas and to determine the conditions and conditions of restrictions.
In addition, these amendments have enabled the government to regulate the activities of companies that provide mining infrastructure. It also allowed the Federal Tax Service to control the miners’ register, which is managed by the Ministry of Digital Development.
Notably, the registration is part of a law signed in August to give the mining industry legal status in the country. Since it went into effect on November 1, more than 150 firms have applied for a crypto mining license to legally operate in Russia.
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