Russian government prepares tougher rules for miners
Russia is preparing to introduce new restrictions on cryptocurrency miners, including tougher penalties for violating existing bans and illegal mining operations.
One of the proposed solutions would allow authorities to remotely disconnect cryptocurrency mining facilities from the power grid during periods of peak demand on the power grid.
Russian government develops stricter regulations for miners
As reported by the Interfax news agency following a recent meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers in Moscow, the Russian Ministry of Energy has been instructed to finalize legislative acts for persons engaged in the extraction of digital assets.
According to a report presented following a meeting chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak, the updated rules imply increased penalties for illegal connections to distribution networks, theft of electricity, and violations of current mining bans.
In addition, crypto miners will be classified into a new category of lower priority consumers for whom the stability of the power supply cannot be guaranteed.
The document specifies that the Ministry of Energy must now develop a “mechanism for the redistribution of released capacities when limiting the extraction of minerals in the region in order to connect socially significant consumers to the power grid.”
Russia intends to remotely shut down mining farms
The Russian government explained that the creation of a new “fourth” category of consumers effectively provides the opportunity to “introduce remote restrictions on consumption during periods of peak loads and when there is a threat of a shortage of electricity and capacity.”
Russia legalized cryptocurrency mining in 2024 to exploit its competitive advantages, such as low and affordable electricity prices. However, Moscow was unprepared for how quickly miners turned the energy surplus into a shortage, prompting Putin to comment:
“We were happy that in some regions we had surplus electricity. But then they started mining coal there… We had to make certain decisions.”
Speaking at an economic forum this month, the Russian president justified restrictions on mining in some areas of the country that are facing growing energy shortages due to the rapid growth of the mining industry.
In recent months, mining has been partially or completely banned in a dozen energy-deficit regions, from Siberia to the North Caucasus and even in occupied Ukraine. Initial temporary restrictions have been extended to six-year bans in some cases.
Among other proposals discussed at the government meeting was the idea of introducing mandatory labeling and certification of imported mining equipment brought into the Russian Federation, the crypto publication Bits.media reported on Friday.
This became possible after Deputy Energy Minister Petr Konyushenko announced that his department, together with the Federal Tax Service and the Ministry of Digital Development, had created a special register of devices used for digital mining. In early July, the official said:
“The registry will allow us to accurately identify consumers using electricity for mining purposes.”
The revised rules are expected to be submitted to the government for approval by the end of the current quarter. After that, federal and local governments will begin implementing them in stages in regions where restrictions on mining Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are in place.
In other countries, mining is permitted for both companies and individual entrepreneurs, subject to registration with the tax authority, but less than a third of mining companies have completed this procedure. Registration is not mandatory for hobby miners consuming less than 6,000 kWh per month.
At the same time, Russian law enforcement agencies and other agencies are actively suppressing the activities of illegal crypto farms across the country in order to reduce financial losses for the state and public utilities. In June, the network operator Rosseti reported that it was cooperating with telecommunications companies to combat illegal miners by monitoring their Internet traffic.
Source: cryptonews.net
