Russia Tightens Control Over Home Cryptocurrency Miners in Novosibirsk
Date: 2024-10-30 Author: Gabriel Deangelo Categories: IN WORLD
As reported by the NGS publication, "security forces" suspect the detained man of fraud with electricity. Deputy Head of the Novosibirsk Regional Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs Kirill Travin spoke at a meeting with Governor Andrei Travnikov about the arrest, which took place in the north-eastern Moshkovsky District of the region.
As a result of the search conducted by the police, "six administrative violations" were identified. The authorities detained the man and opened a criminal case. Travin added that his earnings from his activities amounted to about 12 million rubles. Although it is not officially specified what cryptocurrency he mined, users of a local forum suggested that it was ether (ETH).
"This person used the equipment of the regional power grid to mine cryptocurrency. In total, he was able to earn more than 12 million rubles,” said Kirill Travin.
The illegal activity of home miners is causing discontent among local residents. According to one Novosibirsk resident, who wished to remain anonymous, you can find apartments in the city with constantly open windows even in winter, and in some houses you can hear the characteristic noise from the equipment.
While technically mining on home installations is not illegal in Russia, recent changes in the law oblige miners to comply with electricity limits set by local suppliers. Since November 2024, regions have received the right to turn off the equipment of all home miners if they violate the rules. This became possible after President Vladimir Putin signed the second law on cryptocurrency mining.
However, despite the changes, there are still uncertainties in the law, which are causing difficulties for many small miners. It is assumed that the detained Novosibirsk resident used subsidized electricity for his installations, which caused claims from the authorities. At the same time, private miners usually do not have access to commercial electricity rates, which makes it difficult to comply with the new legislation. Lawmakers plan to return to the issue of private mining in future discussions.
Energy companies have also stepped up their efforts to identify illegal mining farms. According to NGS, such farms are found not only in residential buildings, but also in unexpected places: near wastewater treatment plants, in landfills and in forests. In parallel with Novosibirsk, similar inspections are being carried out in Irkutsk and Buryatia, which are considered the crypto centers of Russia.
In addition, some miners try to hide their operations from authorities by using “mobile farms” located in vans and cars. Meanwhile, bills on taxation of industrial miners are being considered in Moscow. It is expected that this could bring hundreds of millions of dollars to the Russian state budget annually.
