- A senior politician from Russia highlighted that in some Russian areas, the exploitation for mining was now being uncontrolled.
- In the other regions of the country, criminals seem to be using hype around Russia’s crypto mining sector as a front for illicit activities.
- In 2024, Moscow restricted crypto mining in various regions in the winter months until March 15, 2031.
A senior politician hailing from Russia has proposed the idea of developing a dedicated power station that could serve a sole clientele consisting only of crypto miners. The head of the State Council Commission on Energy and the head of the Republic of Sakha made the comments.
The energy team of the Council has given advice to the President on energy policy-associated issues. Nikolaev told the Russian state-run news agency TASS that the State Council Commission on Energy is continuously having words with the Ministry of Energy on crypto mining.
If any area can introduce a different power plant mainly for crypto mining without having a way into public networks, then we could look at executing this kind of solution. Nikolaev added that he was optimistic that soon innovators would introduce solutions that would permit Moscow to safeguard the interests of the population at the time of also developing crypto mining.
Restricting mining in energy-deficient areas
The politician highlighted that in some Russian areas, the exploitation for mining was now being uncontrolled. This, he mentioned, resulted in the dearth of capacity and has made the quality of electricity supply worse for households as well as firms. Nikolaev also alleged that power shortages are a concern mainly in areas that do not have an oversufficiency of electricity.
He further went on to mention that the latest decision to restrict mining in energy-deficient areas is completely right. It was carried out in the interest of the people. If we do not put a stop to the unrestricted load on the networks, there will be negative effects.
In 2024, Moscow restricted crypto mining in various regions in the winter months until March 15, 2031. In the majority of these areas, the restrictions will be placed from November to March every year till 2031. At the same time, some regional chiefs have asked for Moscow to accept year-round bans in some Bitcoin mining hotspots.
Illegal crypto mining
At the beginning of this month, it was reported that lawyers in Novosibirsk revealed that they were examining five cases of illegal mining in the area. One of the cases consisted of harm to the local energy firm estimating around 2 million rubles or $21,858.
In the other regions of the country, criminals seem to be using hype around Russia’s crypto mining sector as a front for illicit activities. A TV channel Ekstrennie Vizov reported that police in Krasnoyarsk made a raid on a company listed as a crypto mining club after accusingly finding it was a front for an illicit online casino.
The offices of the companies were packed with fake marketing material for crypto mining projects, as per the officers.
