The Russian government has approved a list of regions and territories where cryptocurrency mining will be banned, TASS reported on December 24, citing a decree of the Cabinet of Ministers.

The ban will be in effect from January 1, 2025 and until March 15, 2031. It will be extended to Dagestan, Ingushetia, Kabardino-Balkaria, Karachay-Cherkessia, North Ossetia, Chechnya, as well as the annexed territories of Ukraine - the DPR and LPR, Zaporozhye and Kherson regions.

In addition, mining will be banned in some territories of the Irkutsk region, Buryatia and the Trans-Baikal Territory, but temporarily - during the peaks of energy consumption. At the beginning of 2025, mining in these territories will be banned from January 1 to March 15, then annually from November 15 to March 15.

The government clarified that the list of regions and territories is not final, it can be changed by the decision of the commission for the development of the electric power industry.

"The task of such restrictions is to maintain a balance of energy consumption, taking into account the needs of the industry," TASS writes, citing the government.

In October 2024, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law regulating the circulation of digital currency. The document, among other things, allows the Russian government to ban mining in certain regions.

Putin said in July that cryptocurrency mining could lead to electricity shortages in some regions. According to the president, in the Irkutsk region, Buryatia and the Trans-Baikal Territory, there is a shortage of power due to the uncontrolled growth of energy consumption for mining.