Irkutsk banning cryptocurrency mining in the region of the region until 2031

Russian authorities banned cryptocurrency -mining in the southern part of Sibiria’s Irkutsk region until 2031, under a decree signed by Prime Minister Mikhail Motherin and published Monday.

Previously, Crypto mining was banned over Irkutsk and much of Siberia only seasonally from 1 January to 15 March. The new measure makes the ban all year round.

The Irkutsk -Region Governor Igor Kobzev said he had requested the extended ban due to the “excessively high load” placed on the region’s energy system.

“The temporary ban in effect from January to March helped facilitate the load on the power network and released 320 megawatt capacity – equivalent to 146 billion rubles [$1.92 billion] In construction costs for new power production facilities, ”Kobzev wrote on Telegram.

The ban covers 21 districts and eight cities, including Irkutsk, but excludes Bratsk – home to Bratskaya Hydroelectric power plant, a large electricity provider in the region.

At the end of 2024, the Dossier Center, an investigation The marketing market funded by exileed businessman Mikhail Khodorkovsky, connected Statsduma -Suspension Andrey Lugovoi to a data center in Bratsk involved in cryptomining. The center allegedly received a discount on electricity and forced other customers to pay higher rates to offset the costs, according to a source cited by the sales.

Cryptocurrency mining is also banned through 2031 in the North Caucasus and Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine. Journalists have described the Northern Caucasus Republic Dagestan, plagued by long blackouts and aging infrastructure, such as Russia’s crypto mining “capital.”

Russia is the world’s second largest crypto mining after the United States, consuming 16 billion kilowatt-hours electricity annually-CA. 1.5% of its total energy consumption-oming the Ministry of Energy.