Regions in Russia where crypto mining is partially or entirely prohibited could increase in three more, seeking permission to adopt the Moscow ban.
The government commission is looking at the latest demand next month, but authorities have already curbed coin-making activities in at least 12 regions of the Russian Federation.
More Russian regions want to ban crypto mining
Bitcoin miners in three other regions of Russia have endured the ban that local officials want to be imposed on their operations. The news will decide on the issue ahead of the government committee meeting in May.
Mining restrictions could be introduced in northern Karelia, in the Penza region and parts of Carcasia in the republic of South Siberia, Tas’s official news agency reported citing the Russian Ministry of Energy.
“We are talking about three regions: Karelia (northern), Penza Oblast and Hacasia (part of that district),” the department’s news agency details.
The time frame and exact range of the limits have not been determined yet. The ministry declined to comment on whether the ban will only be implemented during the heating season between November 15th and March 15th, or whether it will be permanent.
The latest statement from the Ministry of Energy has previously revealed Andrei Maximov, head of the Department for the Development of the Electricity Industry, previously said that several more regions would like to ban mining. Future government meetings have been confirmed by Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak.
Crypto mining restrictions have already been introduced in more than dozens of Russian regions and territories, including the annexation of the annexation of the Zapores Hyas of the Polys Hyas of Dagestan, Ingschetteia, Kabaldino Barkaria, Karachei-Cherkesia, North Ossetia, Chechnya, and Donetsk, Donetsk, Luhansk and Zaporesea.
The Business News Portal RBC has also been banned from cryptocurrency mining in some areas of the Buryatia and Transbaikal regions at peak electricity consumption. This year, the measures were implemented between January 1st and March 15th. Starting next year, the restrictions will cover the period from November 15th to March 15th.
Parts of the Irkutsk area were hit by permanent bans
On April 7, the federal government imposed an annual ban on mining activities south of Irkutskublast until March 15, 2031, responding to requests from Siberian governor Igor Kobzev, who was dissatisfied with the “overly high load” of the local power grid caused by miners.
The Siberian region, known as the “Russian mining capital,” has attracted a significant number of crypto miners with low power rates over the past few years. Local authorities claimed that the ban unlocked 320 MW of generational capacity.
However, it has become clear that unused electricity has not been distributed to other consumers. In fact, the temporary ban has caused significant financial damage to local electricity distributors. IESK Utility has announced that it has registered about 800 million rubles (nearly $9.6 million) in lost profits.
The industry warns about crypto miners going underground
Like Maria Yeshipova’s chairman of the Miners Industry Federation of Irkutsk, mining members warned that restrictions would cause losses to legitimate mining farms, and ultimately force some of them back to their basements and garages, increasing the burden on the distribution network of residential areas.
Crypto-mining is recognized as a legal business activity in Russia, and businesses and individual entrepreneurs must register with the Federal Tax Services (FNS). Citizens are allowed to mine until they reach a maximum monthly power consumption of 6,000 kWh.
Earlier this month, FNS announced that it had 722 miners and operators of registered mining infrastructure as of April 1. Legal crypto mining agriculture is the most concentrated in Krasnoyarsk Krai, Irkutsk Oblast and the Republic of Tatarstan, according to tax authorities.
