Two Siberian regions of Russia resumed cryptocurrency mining on March 15, but the risk of a five-year ban remains, especially as BitRiver, the market leader, faces bankruptcy.
The Republic of Buryatia and the Zabaykalsky Krai Region will allow cryptocurrency mining facilities to restart their equipment from March 15, when seasonal restrictions imposed since mid-November last year officially expire.
According to RIA Novosti, the temporary ban was issued to address electricity shortages during the autumn and winter months, and applies to almost the entire territory of Buryatia, including 19 local districts and the Ulan-Ude metropolitan area, as well as 14 districts in Zabaykalsky Krai, including the city of Chita and several other administrative units.
This positive signal emerges within a broader, more complex picture. Russia has now imposed a complete ban on mining in 10 more areas, stretching from the Caucasus republics of Dagestan, Chechnya, and Ingushetia to the Russian-controlled Ukrainian territories of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia, where the ban is expected to remain in place until 2031.
Risk of long-term bans and crises for leading companies in the industry.
More worryingly, lifting seasonal restrictions does not guarantee long-term stability. Since mid-last year, Russian legislatures have been discussing the possibility of imposing a year-round mining ban in Buryatia and Zabaykalsky for the next five years. In December, the business daily Kommersant, citing draft internal minutes, reported that the ban is likely to be implemented from 2026, creating a thick cloud of uncertainty for investors in these two regions.
The difficult situation is further highlighted by the crisis at BitRiver, Russia's largest mining company by revenue and capacity. Last month, the Russian Federal Tax Service filed for bankruptcy against a legal entity belonging to the group, while founder Igor Runets was arrested in January on tax evasion charges and is currently under house arrest.
BitRiver-B, a subsidiary, invested millions of dollars in a 100 MW data center project in Buryatia, which was completed but never put into operation. This investment is considered one of the main reasons for the accumulated debt.
Paradoxically, despite cryptocurrency mining being legalized in Russia from 2024, less than a third of businesses in the industry are officially registered. The total number of mining farms still increased by 44% last year to nearly 200,000, according to Cryptopolitan , while increasingly stringent restrictions mainly bind legally operating entities, exacerbating their competitive disadvantage compared to the informal sector.
