Russia bans Bitcoin mining in Moscow through 2032 on power strain

Russia banned crypto mining in Moscow, the surrounding Moscow Region and parts of Kursk through Dec. 31, 2032, as the Energy Ministry moved to ease power-capacity shortages from energy-intensive facilities straining regional grids.

The measure, established under government decree No. 936 and signed July 25, also prohibits participation in crypto mining pools, local media reported after the decree was published July 31.

Mining consumes roughly 1 gigawatt in the Moscow power system, while the region's data-center capacity could reach 3.6 GW, or 17 percent of peak demand, by 2032, Interfax reported. Russia accounted for an estimated 175 exahashes per second, or 16.4 percent of Bitcoin's global computing power, in the first quarter, according to Luxor's Hashrate Index — placing it second behind the U.S., though it's unclear what capacity sat in the newly restricted region.

The restriction extends a clampdown that began in December 2024, when Russia banned mining in 10 regions through March 2031, and adds to year-round curbs in southern Irkutsk, most of Buryatia and Zabaykalsky Krai. The ban could push miners toward regions with surplus power, while the country continues to rely on domestically mined bitcoin for international payments as Western sanctions restrict conventional channels.

Sanctions and the legal backdrop

Russia legalized registered crypto mining in 2024, then preserved exceptions for foreign-trade settlements and transactions involving mined cryptocurrency in legislation parliament passed in July, effective Sept. 1. Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said in December 2024 that Russian companies had been using domestically mined bitcoin in international payments after legal changes designed to counter Western restrictions. The U.S. Treasury sanctioned BitRiver and 10 subsidiaries in 2022, saying Russian mining companies helped the country monetize its energy resources and could offset the impact of sanctions.

The Moscow restriction removes the country's largest power market from the mining map, forcing operators to weigh relocation costs against the economics of running rigs in regions with cheaper, surplus electricity. Participation in mining pools is now prohibited in the restricted zones, complicating operations for miners that rely on pooled hashrate to smooth revenue. With the decree running through 2032, the Energy Ministry has locked in a decade-long cap on mining capacity in Moscow and Kursk even as data-center demand is projected to climb to 17 percent of peak load.

The ban tightens a regulatory patchwork that now spans the country's capital and its most energy-strained regions. Grid capacity, not just sanctions exposure, will shape where Russia's mining industry can operate. Operators in the restricted zones face a choice between relocating to regions with surplus power or winding down, while the country's broader push to use mined bitcoin in cross-border trade continues under the July legal framework. If the constrained regions hold meaningful capacity, the ban could trim Russia's 16.4 percent share of Bitcoin's computing power and nudge network difficulty lower for miners elsewhere, a dynamic that bears watching as the decree takes effect.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.