Russian Crypto Miners Breathe Easier: Regional Ban Expansion Expected to Stall in 2026
Moscow's mining clampdown hits a wall—regional authorities push back against blanket prohibitions.
The Regulatory Chill Thaws
After years of regulatory frostbite spreading across oblasts and republics, a political warming trend is emerging. Key stakeholders—from industrial power brokers to parliamentary allies—are signaling a pause. The push for a uniform, nationwide crackdown is losing steam, buckling under the weight of economic reality and regional defiance. It's a classic tale of centralized ambition meeting decentralized resistance.
Energy Grids vs. Economic Gains
The core tension remains unchanged: energy-hungry mining operations straining local infrastructure versus the undeniable tax revenue and technological foothold they provide. Prohibition was the easy political answer. Now, the harder work of crafting nuanced regulation—think zoning, energy tariffs, and licensing—takes center stage. Some regions aren't waiting for Moscow's permission; they're drafting their own rulebooks, betting their economic future on the digital ledger.
A Calculated Pause, Not a Retreat
Don't mistake this for a surrender. The Kremlin's gaze hasn't wavered. This is a strategic recalibration. The goal shifts from outright elimination to controlled cultivation—bringing a wild industry to heel on the state's terms. It's the same old financial playbook: first threaten the disruption, then offer to manage it for a fee. A cynic might say they're just building a better toll booth on the information superhighway.
The mining rigs hum on, for now. The reprieve is real, but it's bought with time and political capital. The next move will reveal whether Russia wants to bury this industry or profit from it.
Russian crypto miners to be left alone this year
Additional prohibitions on crypto mining in Russia are unlikely in the coming months, according to experts in the field interviewed by the official TASS news agency.
The crypto-related activity may still be prevented in parts of the country that may start to experience growing energy shortages, the specialists admitted.
About 10 Russian regions imposed full mining bans last year, and another three restricted the minting of digital coins temporarily or in parts of their territories.
The measures are usually taken when existing generating capacities are unable to produce enough electricity to satisfy the needs of all consumers.
Ilya Dolmatov, director of the Institute for Economics and Regulation of Infrastructure Industries at the Higher School of Economics (HSE) national research university in Moscow explained:
“Currently, we don’t see any new regions where bans will be imposed. But at some point, they may arise if electricity shortages in certain regions become more severe.”
However, Dolmatov, who is also a member of the Public Council under the Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS), does not foresee any “risk zones” in 2026, noting that electricity consumption across Russia did not increase in 2025.
Areas facing energy deficits don’t typically offer low electricity rates, which makes them unattractive for crypto miners anyway, pointed out Sergey Sasim, director of the HSE Center for Electric Power Research. Restrictions are unlikely in such regions, he added, elaborating:
“Mining is subject to prohibition in energy deficit zones. Therefore, if new areas of power shortage arise, such bans may be introduced. However, mining itself is primarily concentrated in regions with low electricity prices.”
“Since energy deficit zones are generally not characterized by low rates, it is unlikely that such a ban will be implemented there,” Sasim concluded.
At the same time, he believes that the authorities in individual energy-deficient regions could very well “expand discrimination” if the shortage in generation capacity spreads to new areas. “This could be relevant for the Irkutsk region in particular,” he remarked.
Two regions still poised for year-round mining ban in 2026
The Siberian Oblast of Irkutsk, dubbed the mining capital of Russia, is among the dozen regions – from the Russian Far East to occupied Eastern Ukraine – that partially or fully banned mining until 2031. For now, only its southern parts are affected.
Two neighboring regions, with which Irkutsk shares a common electricity supply network, are set to upgrade their currently seasonal mining restrictions to a year-round ban in 2026, as reported by Cryptopolitan.
The federal government intends to approve the move, the Russian press revealed in mid-December, with the business daily Kommersant quoting a draft protocol for an upcoming meeting of the government commission on the development of the electric power industry.
Among the regions that have already done that are a number of Russian republics in the North Caucasus, where local officials and employees of power utilities busted more than 100 illegal mining farms in 2025 alone.
Almost 80% of the underground facilities were discovered in Dagestan, which estimated its losses at nearly 90 million rubles (over $1.12 million) of the region’s total of 1 billion rubles ($13 million) in financial damages.
While Russia legalized Bitcoin mining in late 2024, more than two-thirds of the participants in the growing industry are yet to register with the state and pay taxes, while many rogue miners continue to mint digital currency on stolen electric power.
Moscow is considering an amnesty for the first category and is intensifying the crackdown on the latter. At the end of last year, the Russian Ministry of Justice proposed amendments criminalizing illegal mining activities, including hefty fines, prison sentences and even “forced labor.”
Get seen where it counts. Advertise in Cryptopolitan Research and reach crypto’s sharpest investors and builders.
