Russia Likely to Legalise Crypto Mining from Home in Coming Days, Government Official Hints

Russian authorities have realised that executing a ban on crypto mining from homes could be a tough task to execute.

By Radhika Parashar | Updated: 4 April 2022 13:10 IST

Russia Likely to Legalise Crypto Mining from Home in Coming Days, Government Official Hints

Photo Credit: Pixabay/ Sergey Gorbachev

The electricity rates in parts of Russia are as low as $0.01 (roughly Rs. 0.76) per kilowatt-hour (kWh)

Highlights

Crypto mining needs loads of power, which is cheap in Russia
Crypto mining from homes is picking pace in Russia
President Putin has also spoken of Russia’s edge in crypto mining

Russia is looking to regulate and legalise crypto mining from the homes of its citizens. Alexey Yakovlev, the deputy director of Russia's Financial Policy Department has said that imposing a ban on crypto mining from people's homes is a tough task to execute. Instead, the official has proposed to let Russians generate cryptocurrencies from the comfort of their respective homes. The process of crypto mining requires sustainable solutions to complex, proof-of-work algorithms on advanced computers.

Crypto mining facilities within homes and garages have become a popular source of income in parts of Russia. In Irkutsk for instance, home-based crypto mining increased the power consumptions by four times in the area. The electricity rates in Irkutsk begin at $0.01 (roughly Rs. 0.76) per kilowatt hour (kWh), Bitcoin.com reported.

Russian authorities are now finalising new provisions to bring home-based crypto mining activity into the legal arena.

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The process of crypto mining requires loads of energy, leading to a disrupted electricity supply in the region. The issue of carbon emissions linked with the crypto mining process has also emerged as matter of concern among many governments.

President Vladimir Putin however, believes that Russia has a competitive edge in crypto mining over other nations.

Russia is trying to eliminate the legal vacuum around crypto mining, before the process is officially recognised.

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If legalised, home-based crypto mining could fetch Russia extra income as well.

Last December, Moscow allowed Russian regions to determine electricity rates in residential areas locally.

In order to facilitate crypto mining, regional authorities and utility companies will likely introduce higher tariffs for household consumption exceeding certain thresholds, adding finances to the Russian treasury.

Amid its war with Ukraine, Russia is facing financial sanctions from several western nations. This has cut off the Russian economy from smooth inflow of money.

The country is seemingly turning to the crypto sector, which it was looking to ban in the beginning of 2022, to restore its financial balance.

Russia last month opened Bitcoin payments for its natural gas on global energy markets.

Russia's CBDC Digital Ruble is also completing trials for regular usage.

The country may also use the Digital Ruble as a designated reserve currency in a bid to counter Western sanctions amid the ongoing Ukraine crisis.

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Further reading: Cryptocurrency, Russia, Crypto Mining, Ukraine, Russia Ukraine War

Radhika Parashar

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Radhika Parashar is a senior correspondent for Gadgets 360. She has been reporting on tech and telecom for the last three years now and will be focussing on writing about all things crypto. Besides this, she is a major sitcom nerd and often replies in Chandler Bing and Michael Scott references. For tips or queries you could reach out to her at RadhikaP@ndtv.com. More