Russian Lawmakers Propose Heavy Fines for Illegal Cryptocurrency Mining Activities
Autor: Mining Provider Editorial Staff
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Kategorie: News
Zusammenfassung: Russian lawmakers have proposed fines up to 10 million rubles for illegal cryptocurrency mining, aiming to curb significant tax losses and enforce regulations in banned regions. The legislation seeks to differentiate between legal and illegal mining activities while addressing energy consumption limits and unregistered operations.
Russian Legislators Propose Harsh Penalties for Mining
Russian lawmakers have introduced a bill proposing fines of up to 10 million rubles (approximately $129,000) for illegal cryptocurrency mining, citing annual tax losses of $100 million. The bill, presented on January 19, aims to impose administrative penalties on mining operations in regions where the government has enacted bans, as well as on unregistered miners exceeding permissible energy consumption limits.
The proposed legislation outlines fines for individuals operating illegal mining facilities ranging from 100,000 to 150,000 rubles ($1,000–$1,500) for first offenses, escalating to 1–1.5 million rubles ($10,000–$15,000) for repeat violations. Legal entities face significantly higher penalties, starting at 1–2 million rubles and increasing to 5–10 million rubles for subsequent offenses. Operators of mining infrastructures granting access to unregistered miners could incur fines of up to 500,000 rubles, with repeat offenders facing penalties of up to 5 million rubles.
"Illegal mining costs the Russian economy over 10 billion rubles ($100 million) annually, along with an additional 9 billion rubles in uncollected taxes," stated Anatoly Aksakov, Chairman of the State Duma's Financial Market Committee.
The bill also includes separate penalties for miners exceeding government-mandated energy consumption limits or operating without registration in the official mining registry. This legislative move follows the legalization of cryptocurrency mining in Russia in November 2024, which established a registry system requiring miners to report their activities to tax authorities monthly.
In the context of the market, Russia ranked second globally in cryptocurrency mining in 2025, accounting for approximately 15–18% of the global Bitcoin hashrate, trailing behind the United States. The country has imposed seasonal and year-round mining bans in several regions, including parts of the Siberian Irkutsk Oblast, due to concerns regarding the power grid.
In 2023, mining activities contributed around 10 billion rubles to the tax revenue, highlighting the significant economic impact of this sector.
In summary, the proposed legislation aims to formalize the distinction between legal and illegal mining markets in Russia, with the potential for illegal activities to split into "gray" and "black" areas, as predicted by Aksakov.
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