The number of “white” miners in Russia has increased tenfold.
In Russia, the number of officially registered miners has increased tenfold in six months, said Alexey Nechayev, head of the New People faction, at a plenary session in the State Duma on July 23, the last day of the spring session, according to RBC Crypto.
He noted that this was the result of the adoption of the mining law in the fall of 2024, and that it is a clear illustration of how things should be done, instead of “driving people into the shadows with fines and bans.”
“When mining was just starting out, there were many people who wanted to ban it, but it's clear that cryptocurrencies are the future; mining has always been and will always be,” Nechaev said.
He recalled that before the law was passed, miners operated illegally; some tried to operate officially, but taxes were still not paid. There were also situations where entire cities and districts were without power because mining operations overloaded the power grid, the deputy added.
According to him, there were those who proposed the usual approach—banning and harsher penalties—but a different approach was found: legalizing mining. Six months have passed, and it's clear it's worked, Nechaev emphasized.
“There are now over a thousand officially registered miners in the registry. Before the law, there were 91 companies, meaning the legalization rate has increased more than 10-11 times, and they've started paying taxes,” the deputy explained.
He added that miners have invested 5 billion rubles in artificial intelligence development this year. Nechaev noted that they are investing in Russia, not transferring it abroad, and that power outages have also ceased.
Mining was legalized on November 1, 2024. Cryptocurrency mining in Russia is legally permitted for individual entrepreneurs and legal entities registered in a special registry with the Federal Tax Service (FTS). Individuals can mine cryptocurrency without being included in the registry, but within a limit of 6,000 kWh per month.
Mining is restricted in some areas experiencing energy shortages. A complete ban is in effect until spring 2031 in the southern Irkutsk region, the republics of the North Caucasus, the Donetsk People's Republic, the Luhansk People's Republic, and the Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions. In Buryatia and Transbaikalia, mining is restricted during heating seasons, but these regions may also soon be subject to a complete ban.
In recent years, Russia has consistently ranked second in the world in Bitcoin mining volume, according to the Association of Industrial Miners. This summer, Russian miners' hashrate reached 150 EH/s (exahash per second), or approximately 16.6% of the global hashrate. Experts estimate that by 2024, Russia could have mined up to 40,000 Bitcoins (worth approximately $4.7 billion at the current exchange rate).
