Russia has made headlines in recent months. Currently, crypto mining falls under the ‘gray zone’ in Russia. This means that although it is not banned, it does not fall under the purview of law and that could pose risks for those involved in the nascent market.
Crypto miners account for around 2% of the total electricity consumption in Russia, based on the latest government estimate.
The energy consumption share of the crypto mining sector has now surpassed the nation’s agricultural industry, showing some signs of recovery after Russia fell out of the top three in the global Bitcoin (BTC) mining hash rate share.
Russia’s Deputy Minister of trade and industry Vasily Shpak called for introducing the mining sector under the purview of law in the wake of the recent mining approximation. He stated:
“Do you know how much mining accounts for in the overall map of electricity generation in our country? And I’ll tell you: more than 2%. This is more than the cost of electricity for agriculture. We cannot but recognize mining in this sense as an industrial activity or industry.”
Crypto Mining Regulation In Russia
Crypto mining in Russia currently falls under the ‘gray zone’ where even though it is not banned, it is not regulated either, which causes lots of risk for those involved in the sector. The deputy minister also guaranteed that once the crypto mining space is regulated, it would move toward the more energy-intensive strategies.
Calls for regulating the crypto mining sector come barely days after lawmakers in the nation introduced an updated version of the crypto mining bill. This updated bill removed two sub-sections – the obligation for the bitcoin mining operators to join a special registry and a one-year tax amnesty for all those who have registered.
Buy Bitcoin NowBesides the deputy minister of trade, the nation’s Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin has also supported the idea of looking into the crypto mining space. In April, Mishustin said:
“We also think that in order to stimulate investment, primarily in fixed capital, we can discuss mining issues, this is the creation of data centers and related infrastructure.”
The Russian central bank on the other hand continues to call for a massive blanket ban on mining operations in Russia.
Russia’s Bitcoin mining hash rate share plunged to 4.55% behind China, Kazakhstan, and the United States in the latest report published by the Cambridge Bitcoin Electricity Consumption Index (CBECI).
