Ban on Crypto Mining in Residential Areas Proposed in Russia – The Energy Committee of the State Council in Russia, an advisory body to the President, has proposed a ban on mining digital currencies in residential areas in order to reduce fire hazards, according to local media reports. The proposed ban would prohibit the production of cryptocurrencies in apartment buildings and houses, or in areas of Russia experiencing energy shortages, such as Moscow and the Moscow Oblast.
The mining of digital currencies, which is a source of additional income for many Russians, particularly in areas with access to inexpensive electricity, is not yet regulated. A bill aimed at addressing this is currently under review in the State Duma, the lower house of the Russian parliament. Energy experts have also recommended that the federal government should give regional authorities the power to impose additional taxes on cryptocurrency mining, according to a report in the daily newspaper Izvestia, citing minutes from a meeting of the Energy Committee held in December.
According to Anton Tkachev, a member of the State Duma Committee on Information Policy, Information Technologies and Communications, banning mining in residential areas and regions with limited energy resources makes sense as industrial mining operations consume significant amounts of energy. He also highlighted that energy security is a pressing concern, particularly for small towns that lack the funds to properly maintain and repair energy infrastructure. Additionally, Tkachev noted that the use of mining equipment in private homes poses a risk of fires.
The Russian Ministry of Energy supports the regulation of crypto mining, but notes that residential areas may not have the infrastructure to handle the power consumption from household mining operations. The Irkutsk Oblast region has become a popular location for home mining due to low, subsidized electricity rates, leading to an increase in crypto farms in basements and garages. However, this has also led to an increase in incidents of fires caused by the mining hardware in the region.
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