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Ahmed Balaha
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Russia has moved to suspend crypto mining operations in 13 regions, targeting around 50,000 miners, which is equivalent to the country’s August 2024 approval of the operation.
The ban, extending into 2031 during the summer-cold season, shows that Moscow’s tolerance for reducing grid mining has reached a sustainable level, not just a seasonal one.
The same pressure is on energy: the affected Siberian regions show a shortfall of about 3,000 MW on the Unified Energy System grid, mainly driven by miners who use cheap, heavily subsidized electricity. That’s not a mistake – it’s a grid problem, and the Russian authorities are treating it as one.
Essentials:
- Ban Scope: The ban on mining now includes 10 active regions – including Irkutsk Oblast, the regions of Buryatia and Zabaikalsky Krai, the six republics of the North Caucasus, and the occupied Ukrainian territories that are part of Russia – for a climate ban until 2031.
- Those Affected: About 50,000 users are under pressure, with the largest BitRiver among the hardest hit due to its reliance on cheap Irkutsk electronics.
- Energy Efficiency: Power shortages in parts of Siberia have reached nearly 3,000 MW, with miners accused of using subsidized electricity on a grid-destabilizing scale.
- Upgrade Method: Year-round restrictions in southern Buryatia and Zabaikalsky Krai will take effect on January 1, 2026, overriding seasonal restrictions and banning work indefinitely.
- Must Watch: The government’s energy committee is expected to meet soon to finalize restrictions that have been extended throughout the year; potential amnesty programs in the North Caucasus could direct illegal miners to work in legal fields.
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What Russia’s Crypto Mining Ban Really Does – and Why Regional Decisions Matter
The mechanism is simple: registered and unregistered miners in closed areas are not allowed to work during the set time, forcing the integration of FSB agents, drones, and surveillance technology in places like Kabardino-Balkaria, where illegal operations hidden in abandoned buildings generated more than 1 billion rubles ($125 million) in just 12 million rubles.
Regional selection is not random. The Irkutsk region is facing a year-long ban – its southern regions were already banned in 2025, releasing 320 MW – because it implements the low-cost electricity system that made Siberia the world’s mining hub.
The republics of the North Caucasus (Dagestan, North Ossetia-Alania, Ingushetia, Chechnya, Kabardino-Balkaria, and Karachay-Cherkessia) are included because illegal mining there has caused excessive damage.
The inclusion of Ukraine’s annexed regions – Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson – shows Moscow’s intention to integrate energy into these regions rather than tolerating gray market emissions.
Buryatia’s powerful authorities welcomed the year-long ban, while TASS and Kommersant officials cited relief at the “significant” reduction. The Industrial Mining Association disagreed, saying the bans “reduce (southern Siberia’s) attractiveness to investors” and leave miners “vulnerable.” Both actions are correct – which is what makes this prohibition more important than decorative.
50,000 Miners Offline – What It Means for Global Hash Rate
Russia currently has about 5% of the world’s Bitcoin hash value, according to Cambridge Center for Alternative Finance data – a sector that is built on low-cost electricity, which is now supported.
Subtracting 50,000 workers from there doesn’t change the hashes; redistributes, and redistribution proposals point to the United States, Kazakhstan, and other Central Asian countries as potential beneficiaries.
This is important because hash geography isn’t just a calculation of mining – it creates where mining rewards flow, the areas where mining money is generated, and how the network works in connection with pressure.
The increase in Russian hashrates strengthens the global crisis in the short term, and briefly controls the limits of miners elsewhere before the crisis returns. More and more in the Bitcoin market it also adds another flexibility: compressed streams of mining on the side or lower prices accelerate the flow of users on the side, which can increase the hash revolution beyond what the Russian ban alone could produce.
BitRiver – the largest mining operator in Russia, based in the electronic infrastructure in Irkutsk – faces a very dangerous situation. His model was built on the price of energy that Russia is now clearly violating.
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