The Russian government approved a list of regions and territories where cryptocurrency mining will be banned starting next year.
Crypto mining will be banned entirely in 10 Russian regions for six years, starting Jan. 1, 2025, the local news agency TASS reported on Dec. 24. The ban will remain effective until March 15, 2031.
Russian lawmakers also approved seasonal restrictions in key cryptocurrency mining regions to prevent energy blackouts.
The restrictions align with Russia’s cryptocurrency mining laws signed by the president in August and October 2024.
Blanket bans versus seasonal restrictions
Crypto mining will be banned in 10 Russian regions and territories including Dagestan, Ingushetia, Kabardino-Balkaria, Karachay-Cherkessia, North Ossetia, Chechnya, the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics, as well as the Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions.
The report notes that the ban will affect both mining pool activity and individual cryptocurrency mining.
In addition to the blanket bans, Russia will partially restrict mining operations in three Siberian regions in winter during energy consumption peaks.
The seasonal restrictions will affect certain areas of the Irkutsk, Buryatia and Zabaikalsky regions.
In 2025, these restrictions will initially apply from Jan. 1 to March 15 and extend to a longer period from Nov. 15 to March 15 in the following years.
Russia opts to maintain crypto mining in key mining regions
Russia’s latest mining restrictions are a refined version of the initial restrictions officially proposed by the government in November.
Initially, lawmakers planned to ban crypto mining in 13 regions, including Russia’s key mining region of Irkutsk.
Major Russian mining industry firms like BitRiver rely on cheap electricity in Irkutsk. According to local sources, the Irkutsk region hosts the first and largest data center by BitRiver, which was launched in 2019 in Bratsk.
Approached by Cointelegraph, BitRiver declined to provide a comment on the potential impact of the latest restrictions on its operations.
