The Russian government has approved a list of regions and territories where cryptocurrency mining will be banned from January 1, 2025, to March 15, 2031. According to a government decree, the ban will apply to parts of the Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson regions of Ukraine, which have been occupied by the Russian military.
Mining will also be prohibited in six republics of the North Caucasus: Dagestan, Ingushetia, Kabardino-Balkaria, Karachay-Cherkessia, North Ossetia, and Chechnya. Additionally, the mining ban will affect certain territories in three other Russian regions: Irkutsk Oblast, Buryatia, and the Zabaykalsky Krai. However, in these cases, the restriction will be temporary, only during peak energy consumption periods.
The government clarified that the list of regions and territories is not final and may be modified by the commission on electricity development. "The goal of these restrictions is to maintain a balance in energy consumption, taking into account the needs of industry," the government explained to TASS. Russian President Vladimir Putin previously stated that uncontrolled electricity consumption by cryptocurrency miners could lead to a power shortage in certain regions. On October 26, Putin signed a law regulating the circulation of digital currency in Russia. Under the new rules, the government has the authority to impose a ban on cryptocurrency mining in certain regions.
According to the Ministry of Energy, electricity consumption by miners in Russia reached 1.5 GW in 2023, with most of this consumption concentrated in the Siberian Federal District (SFD). Experts from the rating agency ACRA calculated that, based on energy consumption costs, mining is currently cheapest in Irkutsk Oblast, as well as in the republics of Khakassia and Dagestan. Meanwhile, the "System Operator" (energy system dispatcher) noted that it would be reasonable to impose mining restrictions in regions where a shortage of electricity and power is predicted in the medium term.
