Russian lawmakers like Anton Tkachev are taking a partial stance on crypto mining. The Deputy Head of the State Duma’s Committee on Information Policy, Information Technologies, and Communications, says that mining would be limited to industrial players.
Everything is pointing to the fact that mining will be legalized, but only for legal entities [registered businesses]. As such, individuals will not be able to do this
Anton Tkachev.
Russian politicians aim to cut the cord for private citizens from using crypto within the domestic economy. However, Tkachev agreed that crypto would continue to play a vital role to facilitate Russian trade globally.
This decision has sent shockwaves throughout the crypto community. It straight up signals that private individuals could be banned from doing crypto mining activities. They want to regulate the industry further and the Centre of Economic Classifications, a national regulator, is will soon introduce a new category for “industrial crypto mining.”
The [Russian] state cannot officially carry out transactions in cryptocurrency yet. And Russian companies, trading with colleagues from other countries, unfortunately, are also limited in their capacities to use crypto. But, I think that this will change by the end of this year and the first half of next year.
Russia favours industrial Crypto mining
Tkachev mentioned that an Industrial Mining Association will be established. It will be Russia’s first industrial crypto mining body that can evolve into a self-regulatory organization, influencing sector trends.
Contrasting this stance, Russia made headlines in February 2023 for its supportive stance towards retail crypto mining. Russia unveiled tax incentives for crypto mining investments and revealed plans to set up a $12 million crypto mining center in eastern Siberia.
The Corporation for the Development of the Far East is behind this initiative. They want to capitalize on the “territory of advanced development” status of Buryatia. It a region incentivized to attract investments.
Russian officials were planning to legalize cryptocurrency mining in areas with surplus electricity in September 2022. A specialized map was released, outlining regions where mining was permitted and where it was prohibited. Lawmakers were clear that only areas with excess electricity production capacity would be allowed to engage in industrial crypto mining.
These contrasting developments underscore the evolving regulatory aspects within the country. Many of the moves also appear to be taking shape because of the sanctions imposed on Russia by western countries.
Tkachev explained that the recent growth in the crypto related activities and decisions were a “natural” response to international sanctions. He further noted that the Russian citizens’ financial literacy and understanding of various financial assets has notably increased in recent months.