Russia Proposes Registry to Track Bitcoin Mining Hardware

Russia’s deputy energy minister Yevgeny Grabchak is proposing the creation of a centralized registry to more effectively regulate Bitcoin and crypto mining activities.

According to Russia’s state-owned news agency TASS, the Russian Ministry of Energy has announced plans to revise the regulatory framework for cryptocurrency mining and improve enforcement mechanisms to better identify mining operations, particularly in regions where it is prohibited.

As part of these efforts, Grabchak has proposed a centralized registry of essential mining equipment, which would allow authorities to more effectively identify mining activities and ensure stricter enforcement of bans in restricted regions.

Despite regulatory measures, authorities remain concerned about the persistence of “gray” (unregistered or illicit) mining operations. Nikolai Shulginov, Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Energy, has warned that last year’s ban on cryptocurrency mining in several Russian and Russia-occupied Ukrainian regions may not fully address the problem.

He noted that illegal miners are difficult to detect and enforce penalties against, which could allow underground operations to continue. The Russian government has officially designated a list of regions where cryptocurrency mining is prohibited from January 1, 2025, to March 15, 2031.