Russia has reinstated a ban on crypto mining in two regions of Siberia, which will last until spring.
The restrictions are aimed at avoiding power shortages in the region during the cold winter months when power consumption peaks.
Russia shuts down crypto farms in Buryatia and Zabaikal
Russian authorities are reintroducing a mining ban in the Republic of Buryatia and the Zabaikalsky Krai (Zabaikal Krai) from autumn to winter.
According to Russian media, the ban on virtual currency-related activities will come into effect on November 15th and will be in force until March 15th, 2026.
RIA Novosti News Agency cited a decree adopted by the federal government in December last year, which states that the restrictions in Buryatia apply to almost the entire country (19 municipalities and the urban area of the capital Ulan-Ude).
In the case of Zabaikalsky Krai, provisional measures have been imposed in 14 municipal districts, Chita urban district and Aginskoye village, and the closed administrative district of Gorny city.
Russia legalized the minting of digital coins in November 2024, but soon thereafter began restricting energy-intensive industries due to power shortages in some regions of the country.
The main reason for the concentration of mining companies in some regions of the vast Russian Federation is that electricity prices are low and often subsidized by the state.
In many cases, measures that began as seasonal bans were eventually changed to permanent bans for the next six years, until March 15, 2031.
The list of affected regions currently includes more than 10 regions, including the republics of the North Caucasus, such as Dagestan, North Ossetia, and Ingushetia, as well as the occupied territories of four Ukrainian oblasts, including Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhia, and Kherson.
For now, the ban in Buryatia and Zabaikal remains partial. It will be enforced in each district over the next three days. The same thing repeats every winter, again until 2031.
That is, unless Moscow changes its mind and makes it permanent. A government committee postponed a decision on the proposal in June.
Then, in September, Russia’s Ministry of Energy determined that there was no reason to expand the geographic scope or duration of the current restrictions.
In October, Deputy Energy Minister Evgeny Grabchak said that the issue of introducing a year-round ban in Buryatia and Zabaikal was still under consideration.
Meanwhile, a seasonal ban in neighboring Irkutsk Oblast, where the Republic of Buryatia and the Zabaikal Islands form a single territory for power generation and distribution purposes, was upgraded to a total ban on mining in the southern part of the region, known as Russia’s mining capital.
Russia overcomes both blessing and curse for crypto mining
Countries in the post-Soviet region, such as Russia and the Central Asian republics, have moved to legalize cryptocurrency mining to take advantage of the competitive advantages of abundant, cheap energy resources and cooler climate conditions that help cool mining hardware.
However, the region’s harsh winters have also created competition between cryptocurrency miners and other consumers, as energy requirements, such as heating residential areas, are much more expensive during the colder months of the year.
Kyrgyzstan announced earlier this week that it would close all cryptocurrency farms in its territory until spring 2026 to save electricity, citing similar concerns as low water levels in reservoirs used for hydroelectric power plants.
As reported by Cryptopolitan, the country’s energy minister said in an interview that the country will rely on additional power supplies from neighboring Kazakhstan to maintain the stability of its energy system.
Kazakhstan has more or less managed to cope with its own power shortages, caused by an influx of mining companies after China banned mining operations several years ago, by imposing strict regulations and raising electricity prices for miners.