Russian Ministry of Finance has approved new rules under which IP addresses will now be added to official crypto mining registries. This allows authorities to strengthen control over legal mining at a technical level.
The changes were formalized by a separate government decree following a statement from the Ministry of Finance. The registry, maintained by the Federal Tax Service, is already mandatory for all companies and infrastructure operators officially working with mining in Russia.
IP Addresses Expand the Scope of Collected Data
FTS maintains separate registries for miners and mining infrastructure operators. Access to this data remains closed. Only government agencies, courts, the Bank of Russia, and power grid operators can obtain information.
Previously, the registries mainly contained company registration data. Now authorities also receive the network identifier for each operation, which allows them to match declared activities with actual network activity.
Since the legalization of mining under the digital assets law in 2024, authorities are still trying to bring some miners out of the gray zone.
According to government estimates, budget losses from illegal mining already reach about $122 million. This shows how much of the market still operates outside official registration.
Russia ranks second in mining with a 16.4% share of the global hashrate. Source: Hashrate Index.
Violations Will Lead to Removal From the Registry
If a company provides false information, violates antitrust rules, or is caught in other violations, it may be removed from the registry.
After that, it will no longer be possible to operate legally. Under Russian rules, mining without registration is effectively outside the law.
Authorities explain the tightening of rules as a desire to better control financial risks and mining energy consumption.
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That is why some data is also provided to power grid operators. Mining has long placed a serious load on the energy system in certain regions.
Against this backdrop, Russia has already restricted mining in ten regions with electricity shortages.
And as regulation develops further, there is less and less room to operate outside the official system.
Registry Data Will Remain Closed
The very architecture of the system was initially built so that information would not become publicly available. Only government entities with an official basis can request data.
The entire system remains completely closed to ordinary users. Industry control is exercised through government agencies and internal data access channels.
Now much will depend on how effectively the FTS can work with the huge number of miners who are still not officially registered.
Because illegal mining remains one of the main problems for the entire new regulatory system.
