Russia has imposed a ban on cryptocurrency mining in Moscow, the Moscow Region, and parts of Kursk under government decree No. 936, with restrictions set to last until December 31, 2032. The decree prohibits participation in mining pools and follows a broader regulatory shift, as Russia legalized registered crypto mining in 2024 after a previous ban on 10 regions in March 2031.
The Energy Ministry cited energy capacity concerns, stating that mining currently consumes 1 gigawatt in Moscow’s power system and could rise to 3.6 gigawatts by 2032. This expansion, if unchecked, would strain regional infrastructure, according to projections by Interfax, which analysed the decree’s implications for energy demand.
Finance Minister Anton Siluanov had previously highlighted the strategic use of mined bitcoin for international payments in December 2024, following legal reforms aimed at circumventing Western financial restrictions. However, the new ban may disrupt such efforts, though the extent of mining activity within the restricted zones remains unclear.
Luxor’s Hashrate Index data indicated that Russia accounted for 16.4% of Bitcoin’s global computing power in Q1 2025, with 175 exahashes per second. The scale of operations in the newly restricted areas, however, is speculative, as no precise breakdown of regional hashing power is available.
U.S. sanctions imposed in 2022 against BitRiver and 10 subsidiaries for facilitating Russia’s energy monetisation add another layer of complexity, though their direct impact on the crypto sector is not yet clear. The decree’s long-term effects on both domestic energy networks and international payment channels remain uncertain.
Written by Roger Slater
Technology Desk
