Russia’s Energy Ministry says it will ban crypto mining in “some” regions, with crackdowns on “illegal” miners intensifying in Siberia.
Yevgeny Grabchak, the Deputy Minister of Energy, said that “state-level” bans were in the pipelines and would likely last “until 2030.”
“[Crypto] mining will soon be banned at the state level in some regions.”
Yevgeny Grabchak, Russian Deputy Minister of Energy
Russian Regions to ‘Ban Crypto Mining’
Per the news agency TASS, Grabchak explained that the ban was “due to a shortage of electricity” in these regions.
While the Deputy Minister did not say which regions the government has in mind, he suggested that the bans would focus on traditional mining hotspots.
The State Duma in session. (Source: PravitelstvoRF/YouTube)
“For example, we already have places that are in energy deficits, such as the Far East, Southwest Siberia, and the South. We cannot give large capacities of power to anyone in the long term there until 2030.”
Yevgeny Grabchak, Russian Deputy Minister of Energy
Grabchak was speaking days ahead of the promulgation of a new crypto mining law. The act, Russia’s second mining-focused law, gives regions the power to issue temporary bans on miners.
Earlier this year, President Vladimir Putin gave his blessing to the crypto mining industry. But he also called for regions to have the power to force miners to turn off their rigs, claiming that some areas were experiencing power shortages.
However, the ministry’s new proposal will grant the central government – not regional governors – the right to issue local mining bans.
The news comes just days after Chita Online reported that the Governor of Irkutsk has asked the Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin to “completely ban” crypto mining in the Irkutsk Oblast, the Republic of Buryatia, and Transbaikalia.
Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin addresses parliament earlier this year. (Source: PravitelstvoRF/YouTube)
Crackdown Continues
In the meantime, Irkutsk law enforcers and power providers are continuing to crack down on “illegal” crypto miners operating in the region.
Kommersant reported that police have “detained a man in Malinovka” for “illegal cryptocurrency mining.”
Malinovka is a small village in the Irkutsk’s Cheremkhovskiy District. Officers said the man used an “illegal connection” to the grid at a private residence.
Crypto mining equipment seized during a raid in Siberia. (Source: Main Directorate of Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia for Irkutsk Region)
Officers explained that the local power provider – the Irkutsk Electric Grid Company – had previously disconnected the house from the electricity grid.
The house’s resident, the power company said, had failed to pay their energy bills.
Which Regions Will Ban Crypto Mining?
However, police explained that in March this year, “a local resident” connected the house to the power grid “without permission.”
Police eventually raided the property in “early September,” and “found 25 [crypto] mining rigs and related equipment on the site.”
“The owner of the [crypto mining hardware] we seized told us that he had decided to make money this way.”
Irkutsk Oblast Police
Officers think the crypto miner had drained power worth around $18,520 from the grid.
Criminal Charges
A police spokesperson confirmed law enforcers had “opened a criminal case has been opened against the offender” for allegedly “caused property damage by deception or abuse of trust.”
The spokesperson said that this was a violation of Article 165 of the Russian Criminal Code.
Irkutsk is Russia’s de facto Bitcoin (BTC) mining capital. But in recent months, industrial miners have announced an intention to build new data centers away from Siberia and the Far East.
A similar crackdown also appears to be underway in Novosibirk, Siberia’s biggest city and the region’s administrative center.
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