Moscow must provide amnesty for illegal mining equipment, advisor says

Russia needs to offer amnesty to cryptocurrency miners using illegally sourced hardware, suggests an expert advising lawmakers in Moscow on crypto regulations.

The move would help bring more of them out of the shadow economy, as the majority of mining businesses in the country continue to operate outside the existing law.

Russian government urged toward mining amnesty

Russian authorities should implement an amnesty covering illegally imported mining equipment, according to Oleg Ogienko.

The chief executive of Via Numeri, a consulting firm in the IT space, is a member of the expert council of the working group on the legislative regulation of cryptocurrencies at the State Duma, the lower house of Russia’s bicameral legislature.

Ogienko pitched the idea during this year’s edition of the “Digital Almaz” forum, held in the city of Yakutsk this week. The event brings together IT industry leaders, representatives of other business circles, scientists, and government officials.

Quoted by the official Russian news agency TASS on Thursday, Ogienko elaborated:

“In my opinion, several things are missing from the [current] regulation. Of course, an amnesty enshrined in law for [mining] equipment imported in violation of the law.”

The entrepreneur was referring to the legislation legalizing the minting of digital currencies in the Russian Federation, which was adopted and entered into force in 2024.

While far from perfect, it made mining the country’s first regulated crypto-related industry, recognizing it as a legitimate business activity.

The framework introduces certain rules for companies and individual entrepreneurs engaged in the sector and their hardware.

They are required to register with the Federal Tax Service (FNS) and pay due taxes if their electricity consumption exceeds 6,000 kWh monthly.

Their mining machines and facilities are also subject to mandatory registration and regulations governing the import of computing hardware.

But the process has been slow and, according to a recent estimate, only about a third of Russian miners have so far reported their activities to the state.

60% of Russian crypto miners remain under the radar

Oleg Ogienko is convinced that the absence of an amnesty for illegally imported mining equipment “effectively hinders the inclusion of many market participants in the register” set up by the FNS.

Approximately 60% of miners in Russia are not listed there, remaining “in the shadows,” confirmed the advisor to the Russian parliament.

Around 150 operators of mining infrastructure and nearly 1,300 entities involved in mining activities are officially registered, detailed Dmitry Bayandin, CEO of Digital Zaryadye, a company specialized in the manufacturing of electrical equipment and electronic components.

The main theme of the “Digital Almaz” forum in 2025 is connectivity, which helps shape a future where telecommunications, data centers, and cybersecurity will form the foundation of trust in the digital world, TASS highlighted in its report.

The organizers are welcoming more 2,000 delegates from Russia and other countries on November 27 to 29, who gather to discuss digital transformation in the capital of the nation’s largest region by territory, Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) in the Russian Far East.

Siberian regions have attracted significant numbers of crypto miners, offering cheap electricity and cold climates – Russia’s two main competitive advantages, as far the energy-intensive minting of digital coins is concerned.

But the high concentration of mining enterprises, both licensed and unauthorized, has caused headaches for local officials who have been complaining about growing power shortages. The latter prompted authorities in more than 10 regions to temporarily or permanently prohibit mining this year.

The federal government in Moscow has mostly backed their demands and supported a crackdown on the illicit operations of miners, from Irkutsk to Donetsk in occupied Eastern Ukraine.

Russian law enforcement agencies and utility companies are now using sophisticated methods to locate illegal crypto farms and identify their operators in joint raids across the vast country.

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