BREAKING: Russia Moves to Ban Crypto Mining in Moscow Through 2032, Jail Time for Illegal Miners

BREAKING: Russia is preparing a six-year crypto mining blackout across Moscow, the surrounding Moscow Oblast and parts of the Kursk region.

The freeze runs through at least 2032. Deputy Energy Minister Evgeniy Grabchak confirmed the timeline to TASS.

JUST IN: The State Duma just passed first reading of a bill that sends illegal miners to prison.

Penalties hit fast. Fines up to 2.5 million rubles, roughly $35,000. Forced labor. Up to five years behind bars for organized groups. Property seizures on the table.

A government commission overseeing the electric power industry signed off on the recommendation. Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin and Moscow Oblast Governor Andrey Vorobyov both pushed for the clampdown.

The numbers behind the move: at least 65 data processing centers totaling 734 MW are currently plugged into the grid across the two territories.

Kursk Governor Alexander Khinshtein wants the ban extended to eight districts and the city of Lgov. His pitch: free up reserve capacity strained by the war next door in Ukraine.

The blast radius could go wider. Kommersant reports the Kremlin is weighing a mining shutdown across 19 regions tied to Moscow's power distribution network. That would cover the entire Central Federal District, the economic core of the country.

Context: Russia only legalized mining in 2024. Cheap power and cold weather were supposed to be the edge. Instead, miner concentration drained regional grids.

The first wave already hit. Thirteen regions were locked down last year through spring 2031, including Irkutsk Oblast, Buryatia, Zabaykalsky Krai, most North Caucasus republics, and four occupied Ukrainian oblasts.

Moscow Oblast's Energy Minister Sergey Voropanov: mining brought zero benefit to the local economy. The earlier bans, he said, already showed results.

What's at stake: Russia is one of the world's top mining jurisdictions by hashrate. A Central Federal District shutdown reshuffles global capacity overnight.

Watch the BTC network difficulty. Watch the hashprice. Watch how fast operators relocate iron east, or out of country entirely.

More to come.