But Russia is unlikely to get taxes on illegal crypto mining, and power outages could be costly for everyone in a region. So next year, Russia will ban crypto mining in ten regions for six years and impose seasonal restrictions that would disrupt some crypto mining activities during the coldest winter months in regions like Irkutsk, Cointelegraph reported.
Illegal mining is reportedly still flourishing in Irkutsk, despite government efforts to close secret farms. To deter illegal crypto mining disrupting power grids last year, authorities in Irkutsk seized hundreds of crypto mining rigs, Crypto News reported.
In July, Russian President Vladimir Putin linked blackouts to illegal crypto mining, warning that crypto mining currently consumes “almost 1.5 percent of Russia's total electricity consumption,” but “this figure continues to rise,” the Moscow Times reported. And in September, Reuters reported that illegal mines were literally going underground to avoid detection as Russia's crackdown continues.
Although illegal mines are apparently common in parts of Siberia and increasingly operate outside the public eye, the discovery of an illegal mine hidden on state land controlled by an electricity company was likely surprising to officials.
The energy supplier was not named in the announcement, and there are several in the region, so it is currently unclear which energy supplier made the controversial decision to lease state land to an illegal mining operation.
