Russia Institutes Partial Ban on Crypto Mining to Control Energy Use, Tass Reports
12/24/2024 17:23
Temporary bans may be imposed in other regions during peak energy demand, Tass reported
Russia Imposes 6-Year Ban on Crypto Mining in 10 Regions, Citing Energy Use: Tass
Temporary bans may be imposed in other regions during peak energy demand, Tass reported
Dec 24, 2024, 10:12 a.m. UTC
The Russian government imposed a six-year ban on crypto mining in 10 regions due to the industry's high power consumption, Tass reported.
The ban, which includes participation in a mining pool and temporary restrictions in other regions during periods of peak demand, takes effect Jan. 1 and ends March 15, 2031, Tass said, citing a decision by the Council of Ministers.
The country legalized crypto mining in July, with the law taking effect last month. Russia bans the use of cryptocurrencies as legal tender for regular payments internally, but does allow cross-border payments with crypto in an attempt to evade sanctions imposed after it invaded Ukraine.
The regions affected by the ban include Dagestan, North Ossetia and Chechnya, and can be altered depending on a government commission examining changes in energy demand.
The ban also takes into account inter-regional subsidies on electricity that make it cheaper to use power in some regions.
Sheldon Reback
Sheldon Reback is CoinDesk's European news editor. Before joining the company, he spent 26 years as an editor at Bloomberg News, where he worked on beats as diverse as stock markets and the retail industry as well as covering the dot-com bubble of 2000-2002. He subsequently managed the Bloomberg Terminal's main news page before becoming the European editor for a global project to produce short, chart-based stories across the newsroom. His previous work as a journalist took him to Hong Kong, where he reported and edited for several technology magazines. Sheldon has a degree in industrial chemistry and an MBA. He owns ether and bitcoin below CoinDesk's notifiable limit.
