Cryptocurrency mining in Russia will be faced with hefty restrictions starting next year. This comes after the Russian government ruled a six-year blanket ban dealing a huge blow to crypto miners in 10 major regions across Russia. This implementation will take effect on January 1, 2025, and will not be canceled until March 15, 2031, according to local news agency TASS.
In a move to curb power blackouts, Russia has not only opted for a blanket crypto mining ban but also endorsed seasonal restrictions in major crypto mining territories. This decree is in line with the country’s crypto mining laws inked by the president in late 2024. Notable regions to be affected by this exercise include Dagestan, Ingushetia, Kabardino-Balkaria, and the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics, among others.
Not just corporations, but individual miners within these territories will have to bear the brunt of the ban as well. Moreover, for a three-month period in the winter season, mining activities will be partially controlled in Siberia’s three regions, including Irkutsk, Buryatia, and Zabaikalsky to counter peak energy consumptions. These restrictions, commencing on January 1, 2025, will be elongated from November 15 to March 15 in subsequent years.
The newly enforced regulations are a revised model of regulations proposed by the government in November, which initially considered banning crypto mining in 13 regions. Top crypto mining companies such as BitRiver, which bank on the cheap electricity in Irkutsk, could be drastically struck by this ban. To recall, the region of Irkutsk hosts BitRiver’s largest data center, inaugurated in 2019 in Bratsk.