Only 30% of crypto miners operate legally in Russia

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Russia’s deputy finance minister revealed that despite new laws requiring mining entities to register on the Federal Tax Services (FTS), only one-third of crypto mining companies are operating legally.

Crypto miner runs in shadow

On Thursday, Russian state news agency Tass reported that more than half of crypto mining companies are still operating without federal tax services. According to the report, Finance Minister Ivan Chebeskov said that since the new law came into effect in November 2024, only 30% of miners have registered.

In the context, the Russian government approved a law last August to legalize cryptomining in the country. The legislation was created on November 1, 2024 to combat illegal mining activities and provide exclusive rights to entities registered with the FTS. By December 2024, more than 100 mining companies have applied.

As Bitcoiners reported, FTS chief Daniil Yegorov revealed that just one month after the law was enacted, 150 companies applied for registration. However, he believes that number is small and expects the number of applicants to be larger in the coming months.

Seven months later, that number is still low, as only one-third of mining entities have applied for registration. The other two-thirds need to be cleaned and entered into the register.

The Finance Minister asserted that the goal was to legalize the mining sector and “drag the industry as much as possible”. He also noted that they did not achieve their goals, adding that the ministry would work hard to complete.

We have not completed this process yet. So far, only 30% of miners have been entered into the register maintained by federal tax services, and this process is far from complete (…), so we will work hard to complete this process.

Russian authorities tighten rules

It is worth noting that the Ministry of Digital Development is reportedly working to add a new article to the Code of Administrative Crime (COAO) to provide fines for illegal mining and failing to provide information on mining encryption.

According to recent reports, the amendment is under inter-departmental review and may introduce four types of crimes, three of which will be related to crypto mining.

Furthermore, the judge will have the right to confiscate cryptocurrency assets from anyone who mines illegally, aiming to stop unregistered business in Russia. The amendment will also address cryptocurrency payments, fines for people who trade outside the central bank’s sandbox.

In April, Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov announced a plan to establish a dedicated exchange with the Bank of Russia (BOR) for “high-quality investors” aimed at “legalizing cryptocurrency assets and pulling cryptocurrency operations out of the shadows”.

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