Russia Pushes Legislation for Criminalizing Illegal Crypto Mining – Coincu

The Russian Federal Financial Monitoring Service, also known as Rosfinmonitoring, plans to introduce criminal liabilities for illegal cryptocurrency mining activities, targeting money laundering operations.

This initiative involves collaboration with the Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank and has backing from the State Duma, aiming to stop cheap electricity exploitation by miners.

Russia’s Plan to Curtail Illegal Crypto Mining

The Russian Federal Financial Monitoring Service announced plans to impose criminal penalties on illegal cryptocurrency mining. Collaborating with the Finance Ministry and Central Bank, they aim to draft laws preventing financial system exploitation.

Rosfinmonitoring’s move may redirect mining activities outside Russia, impacting Bitcoin and Ethereum production levels, leading to a potential global hashrate drop.

Nikolai Zhuravlev, Vice Chairman, Federation Council, noted, “Legislation needs to be forward-looking to eliminate loopholes in the financial system.”

Osman Kabaloev mentioned the introduction of administrative penalties besides criminal liability.

Global Impact Predicted for Crypto Mining

Did you know? Amid Russia’s potential crackdown, historical context shows China’s 2021 crypto mining ban led to a global hashrate drop and relocation of operations.

CoinMarketCap data records Bitcoin at $95,020.67, with a market cap of $1.89 trillion. Its 24-hour trading volume shows a 13.76% decrease, and a 7-day price rise of 1.42% was observed. Current supply stands at 19,858,075 out of 21 million, as of April 30, 2025.

Experts from Coincu indicate a potential shift in mining activities due to Russian legislation, similar to historical precedents in China and Kazakhstan. This might lead to short-term production drops and increase transaction times.