Key facts:
According to the government, “illegal” farms have been detected in some other regions.
Unauthorized cryptocurrency mining is causing power outages, Russian officials say.
Russian authorities say they will pay more attention and effort to combat illegal Bitcoin mining. This is amid power outages and repairs due to the arrival of winter expected in November in the Eurasian country.
The head of the government of Dakhestan province, Abdulmuslim Abdulmuslimov, said that Bitcoin mining rig owners are coming up with new methods to “circumvent” the law, such as by installing mining farms underground.
Abdulmuslimov’s comments came at the same time that an underground Bitcoin mining farm was discovered. According to the government, similar cases have been detected in some regions of the republic, as well as mobile units for practicing the activity without being detected by the authorities.
The way in which clandestine miners are operating in Russia was revealed in a video posted on the Telegram channel of the government of the Republic of Dagestan. It shows one of these farms discovered the day before in the Serkogalinsky district, where it is observed a narrow room at the end of which more than 15 devices were found.
As CriptoNoticias reported in July, Russia legalized Bitcoin mining. To do so, it established that Miners were required to provide the regulatory body with information about their operations.
The new legislation also stipulates that only legal entities and individual entrepreneurs registered and included in a special registry will be able to engage in Bitcoin mining.
In this sense, those who do not exceed the energy consumption limits established by the government will be able to mine digital currency at home, without registering. Additionally, miners will have to discuss with the Ministry of Energy the setting of electricity rates.
In itself, the law provides for a specific prohibition since You cannot offer mined cryptocurrencies to an unlimited number of peopleadvertise and organize their circulation. The regulations also give the government the right to prohibit or limit mining in certain regions based on energy consumption.
In this regard, Putin warned that excessive use of electricity by Bitcoin miners may cause shortages in certain regions. In Dagestan, power outages have been recorded recently, as well as the fire at the Novaya substation in Makhachkala, which affected the city and led to protests by residents.
Authorities link these electrical problems to Bitcoin mining farms, highlighting that an illegal mining operation was discovered in Kaspiysk that consumed energy equivalent to that of a 300-apartment building, according to media report local.
