Russia’s State Duma is discussing the introduction of substantial fines for illegal cryptocurrency mining. The proposed bill is expected to establish financial penalties for operating without registration, exceeding electricity consumption limits, and failing to report to the tax authorities.
The goal of the legislation is not to ban mining outright but to bring it out of the shadow economy. Another key objective is to reduce pressure on the country’s energy infrastructure.
What Violations May Be Penalized
The proposed fines would apply to the following violations:
• Mining in regions where it is officially prohibited.
• Operating without being registered in the official miners’ registry.
• Exceeding the permitted electricity consumption limits.
• Failing to report to the tax authorities on the amount of cryptocurrency mined and the wallet addresses used.
• Providing mining infrastructure to individuals or organizations that do not have the legal right to engage in mining activities.
Penalties would apply to individuals, officials/entrepreneurs, and companies for these violations.
Size of the Fines
The amount of the fines would depend on the violator’s legal status:
• Individuals: 100,000–200,000 RUB
• Officials and entrepreneurs: 200,000–800,000 RUB
• Companies: 400,000–2,000,000 RUB
Repeat violations would result in significantly higher penalties:
• Individuals: 1,000,000–1,500,000 RUB
• Entrepreneurs and officials: 3,000,000–5,000,000 RUB
• Companies: 5,000,000–10,000,000 RUB
In addition to fines, company executives could face a ban on holding management positions for up to two years, while organizations may face a temporary suspension of operations for up to three months.
The bill also proposes separate liability for the use of Russian data centers for illegal mining. The intention is to prevent large operators from relocating mining equipment to server facilities in order to formally bypass existing restrictions.
How Mining Is Currently Regulated in Russia
At present, the main legislative framework governing cryptocurrency mining in Russia is Articles 7–13 of Federal Law No. 259-FZ of July 31, 2020.
Amendments to this law that came into force at the end of 2024 establish the administrative and tax framework for the legalization of mining in Russia. Lawmakers are emphasizing strict accounting and oversight by integrating the industry into the country’s existing fiscal and supervisory system.
1. The Federal Tax Service as the Central Regulator
The Federal Tax Service of Russia (FTS) has been designated as the central operator of the system. It is responsible for maintaining registries of miners and mining infrastructure, making decisions on inclusion or removal from those registries, collecting reports, and enforcing oversight.
This approach reflects the government’s view of mining as an economic activity whose ultimate outcome is taxable income. As a result, the FTS is granted powers similar to those it already exercises over individual entrepreneurs and legal entities.
2. Registries as a Tool for Legalization and Oversight
Registration in the official registry is a mandatory condition for operating legally. The registry functions as a market-filtering mechanism.
Through it, the government gains a full picture of who is mining cryptocurrency, where they are operating, and at what scale. Refusal to register—or removal from the registry—effectively amounts to a ban on conducting mining activities and represents a powerful administrative enforcement tool.
3. Removal from the Registry as the Key Sanction
Sections 8 and 9 establish the grounds for removal from the registry. One of the most significant is repeated violations of Federal Law No. 115-FZ, which governs anti-money-laundering and counter-terrorist-financing measures (AML/CFT).
This effectively places miners in a category similar to other “obligated entities” such as banks or cryptocurrency exchanges, requiring them to perform customer identification and report suspicious transactions. Violating these rules could quickly result in the loss of legal operating status.
4. End-to-End Transaction Transparency
Section 10 introduces mandatory reporting for every unit of digital currency mined, as well as for the wallet addresses involved, including mining pools.
In practice, this requires miners to declare all mined cryptocurrency in near real time. The information will be submitted to the Federal Tax Service and, under Section 11, shared with Rosfinmonitoring and the Central Bank of Russia.
This creates a system of full financial traceability for each transaction—an unprecedented level of oversight in the mining sector.
5. Increasing Administrative Barriers
The amendments impose regulatory requirements comparable to those in the financial sector. To operate legally, miners will need to:
• Register and maintain ongoing interaction with the Federal Tax Service.
• Implement internal compliance systems in line with AML/CFT regulations (Law No. 115-FZ).
• Submit regular reporting.
These requirements are likely to push small, unstructured operators out of the market and transform the industry into one dominated by professional companies capable of meeting the regulatory and compliance costs.
