Russian govt to introduce ban on cryptocurrency mining in Moscow region, Kursk region from Aug 15

MOSCOW. August 3 (Interfax) The Russian government is introducing a ban on the mining of digital currencies (including participation in a mining pool) in Moscow, the Moscow region and certain territories of the Kursk region, with the corresponding resolution published on the official portal of legal acts.

According to the document, the restrictions will be in effect from August 15, 2026 to December 31, 2032.

The absence of a year-round ban in these territories leads to risks of power capacity shortages due to the connection of energy-intensive mining facilities to electrical grids, the Energy Ministry said in an explanatory note to the draft resolution.

The Energy Ministry of the Moscow region previously proposed a ban on mining in the Moscow region. In his speech at Energoprom-26, the Moscow region's energy minister, Sergei Voropanov, estimated energy consumption of mining in Moscow's energy system at 1 GW. The capacity of data centers in Moscow and the Moscow region could reach 3.6 GW by 2032, or 17% of the maximum load, he said, citing data.

A similar ban has been in effect in a number of regions since 2025. Such restrictions have been introduced in the republics of the North Caucasus Federal District, the Donetsk People's Republic, the Lugansk People's Republic, the Zaporozhye and Kherson regions, certain districts of Trans-Baikal Territory and Buryatia, and partially in the Irkutsk region until 2031.

In May, the System Operator forecast an increase in Russian data centers' energy consumption over the next five years from the current 4.2 GW to 15.3 GW. The share of data centers in Russia's total energy consumption structure will be 2.4% in 2026.