Russia has imposed a long-term ban on crypto mining in Moscow, the surrounding Moscow Region and parts of Kursk, adding the capital area to the list of territories where the activity is restricted because of pressure on electricity infrastructure.
The measure was introduced under government decree No. 936, which also bars participation in crypto mining pools in the affected areas. The decree was signed on July 25 and published on July 31, according to local media reports, and the restrictions are due to remain in place through Dec. 31, 2032.
Grid stability cited as the main reason
Russia’s Energy Ministry said the year-round restriction is intended to reduce the risk of power-capacity shortages as energy-intensive mining operations continue to connect to regional grids. The move reflects concern that the sector’s electricity needs could outpace available capacity in densely used parts of the country.
Interfax reported after the decree was signed that mining currently uses about 1 gigawatt in the Moscow power system. It also said data-center capacity in the region could reach 3.6 gigawatts by 2032, equal to 17% of peak demand, underscoring why officials framed the ban as a power-system measure rather than a broader reversal of policy.
Russia remains a major Bitcoin mining base
Despite the new restrictions, Russia remains one of the largest centers of Bitcoin mining globally. In the first quarter, the country accounted for an estimated 175 exahashes per second, or 16.4% of global Bitcoin computing power, according to Luxor’s Hashrate Index.
That level placed Russia second only to the United States. However, the available data did not show how much of that mining capacity was located in Moscow, the Moscow Region or the parts of Kursk now covered by the decree.
Ban comes after legalization and regional limits
The decision follows Russia’s 2024 legalization of registered crypto mining, a step that created a formal framework for the industry rather than banning it nationwide. But that legalization was quickly paired with geographic limits as authorities responded to rising electricity demand in some regions.
Russia had already prohibited mining in 10 regions through March 2031 for power-related reasons. Year-round restrictions were later broadened to southern Irkutsk and most of Buryatia and Zabaykalsky Krai, making the new Moscow-area decree part of a wider pattern of region-by-region controls.
Mining’s role under sanctions remains in focus
The policy also lands against the backdrop of Western sanctions and Russia’s search for alternative settlement channels. Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said in December 2024 that Russian companies had been using domestically mined bitcoin in international payments after legal changes aimed at countering Western restrictions.
Parliament in July kept Russia’s ban on domestic crypto payments in place, but preserved exceptions for foreign-trade settlements and for transactions involving mined cryptocurrency. That means the legal mechanism for using mined crypto in cross-border trade remains available even as certain regions face tighter limits on where mining itself can take place.
The international sanctions angle has been present for several years. In 2022, the U.S. Treasury sanctioned BitRiver and 10 subsidiaries, saying Russian mining companies helped monetize the country’s energy resources and could soften the impact of sanctions. For now, the next confirmed step is the implementation of decree No. 936, with the Moscow-area and partial Kursk restrictions scheduled to stay in force until the end of 2032.
Source: www.coindesk.com