Moscow mining ban set
Russia has expanded its cryptocurrency mining ban to include Moscow, the Moscow Region, and parts of the Kursk Region, with the restrictions formalized in Government Resolution No. 936 and signed by Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin on July 25, 2026.
“Government Resolution No. 936”
The ban is set to take effect on August 15, 2026, and remain in place through December 31, 2032, covering both direct cryptocurrency mining and participation in mining pools from the affected territories.
The measure is justified by the Russian Ministry of Energy as a way to prevent a potential shortfall in energy capacity, with the Anadolu Ajansı report saying the Ministry had warned that energy-intensive mining facilities pose risk of energy capacity shortfall.
The restrictions also target eight municipal districts in Kursk Oblast and the city of Lgov, while Russia’s Ministry of Energy estimates that mining consumes about one gigawatt across the Moscow power system, with roughly half of that demand falling within Moscow and the surrounding region.
Data centers and grid
The ban’s rationale is tied to electricity demand from computing infrastructure, with finance.biggo reporting that Moscow and the Moscow Region are home to 65 data centers connected to the electricity grid with a combined capacity of 734 megawatts.
finance.biggo also says the Moscow energy system requires at least 950 megawatts of additional generation capacity, and that officials project total data center capacity in the capital region could reach 3.6 gigawatts by 2032, representing about 17% of the system’s maximum load.
In a separate framing, Bitbo says Russia’s Ministry of Energy published a draft decree that would ban cryptocurrency mining in Moscow, Moscow Oblast, and parts of Kursk Oblast for more than six years, with the ban taking effect July 1, 2026 and remaining in place through December 31, 2032.
Bitbo adds that Governor Alexander Khinshtein pointed to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine as a major driver of Kursk Oblast’s power crisis, and that the Kursk ban specifically targets eight districts along with the city of Lgov.
Compliance and penalties
Russia’s restrictions are designed to limit commercial electricity demand in the affected border districts, with the wording of the resolution covering both mining and participation in mining pools so miners cannot keep equipment active in Moscow while arguing the cryptocurrency is produced through an organization registered elsewhere.
“Igor Runetswas transferred from house arrest to pretrial detention”
Cointribune says the ban’s long duration extends until December 31, 2032 and that operators have only a few weeks to comply, including relocating equipment and addressing obligations to landlords.
Bitbo reports that a separate bill moving through the State Duma would criminalize unregistered mining activities, with penalties including fines of up to 2.5 million rubles and prison sentences of up to five years.
The policy change comes alongside separate legal scrutiny of Russia’s mining industry, with PortalCripto noting that the new measure was published a few days after BitRiver founder Igor Runets was moved from house arrest to pretrial detention and that investigators say a deal involving mining equipment and the energy group En+ led to losses of 1 billion rubles, estimated at US$12.5 million.