The ban on cryptocurrency mining came into force on August 15 in Moscow, the Moscow region, and certain territories of the Kursk region.
The ban applies to:
- independent cryptocurrency mining;
- participation in mining pools.
Duration of the Restrictions
The new regime is set to remain in effect until December 31, 2032. The timeline is specified in a decree by the Government of the Russian Federation, which was previously published on the official legal acts portal.
Cryptocurrency remains an energy-intensive sector, and mining creates a significant load on power grids. The Ministry of Energy of the Russian Federation indicated that the absence of a year-round ban in these regions increases the risk of insufficient available energy capacity due to the connection of large mining facilities.
Why the Restrictions Were Introduced Now
The initiative to ban digital currency mining in the Moscow region was previously put forward by the Ministry of Energy of the Moscow region. The head of the department, Sergey Voropanov, at the “Energoprom-26” forum, estimated mining’s power consumption in the Moscow energy system at about 1 GW.
According to his data, the capacity of data centers in Moscow and the Moscow region could reach 3.6 GW by 2032. This is about 17% of the maximum load on the region’s power system.
For the power system, not only the total available capacity is important, but also the standard of energy consumption amid the growth in the number of large consumers. In this context, the restrictions affect market participants of various scales, including companies and those operating as individual entrepreneurs in Russia. Issues of industry participant accounting are also related to the Federal Tax Service of Russia.
Where Similar Bans Are Already in Effect
Similar measures have been in place in a number of regions since 2025:
- Republics of the North Caucasus Federal District — until 2031, restrictions are in effect;
- DPR, LPR, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions — until 2031, restrictions are in effect;
- certain areas of the Zabaykalsky Krai and Buryatia — until 2031, restrictions are in effect in specific territories;
- Irkutsk region — partial ban.
“System Operator” in May forecast a sharp increase in data center power consumption in Russia: from the current 4.2 GW to 15.3 GW in the next five years. By the end of 2026, the share of data centers in the country’s total energy consumption structure could reach 2.4%.
