Authorities in Russia announced Tuesday plans to ban cryptocurrency mining in a number of areas this winter to deal with electrical energy shortages.
The ban will affect the Irkutsk region, parts of the republic of Buryatia and the Zabaikalsky area in Siberia, as well as six regions in the North Caucasus, including the republics of Chechnya and Dagestan.
It will also extend to the occupied Ukrainian areas of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson.
The choice, made by a government commission led by Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak, intends to restrict crypto mining during the heating season.
Mining in Siberia will be restricted from Dec.
1 to March 15, 2025, with yearly restrictions from Nov.
15 to March 15 through 2031.
In the North Caucasus and occupied Ukraine, mining will deal with total restrictions from December 2024 through March 2031, without any seasonal reprieve, the Kommersant service newspaper reported recently.
The constraints follow brand-new laws signed by President Vladimir Putin on Nov.
1 that manage crypto mining and produce speculative infrastructure for cross-border cryptocurrency payments.
While domestic crypto payments stay banned, some lawmakers view the regulations as a prospective tool for bypassing sanctions.
Russia, the worlds second-largest crypto mining center after the U.S., consumes 16 billion kilowatt-hours yearly for mining about 1.5% of its total electricity usage, according to the Energy Ministry.