Over 100 Illegal Mining Farms Found in the North Caucasus Since the Beginning of the Year

RBK-cryptoPublished on 2025-12-11Last updated on 2025-12-11

Abstract

Since the beginning of 2025, over 100 illegal cryptocurrency mining farms have been discovered in Russia's North Caucasus Federal District, according to "Rosseti Severny Kavkaz." The total financial damage from their operations is estimated at over 656 million rubles. Although cryptocurrency mining is officially banned in the region until Spring 2031, many illegal miners continue to operate by stealing electricity, either bypassing meters or connecting directly to the grid without contracts. The breakdown of discovered farms by region is as follows: 79 in Dagestan (causing 89.5 million rubles in damage), 14 in Ingushetia (455.5 million rubles), 5 in Karachay-Cherkessia (104.1 million rubles), 2 in Stavropol Krai (1 million rubles), 2 in North Ossetia (390,000 rubles), and 1 in Kabardino-Balkaria (5.8 million rubles). Dagestan leads in the number of cases, which the energy company attributes to individuals attempting to generate profit without using their own funds for electricity. In response to the widespread issue, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak announced on December 8th that the government plans to establish both administrative and criminal liability for violations related to cryptocurrency mining.

More than 100 illegal mining farms have been identified since the beginning of 2025 in the North Caucasus Federal District, according to the company "Rosseti Severny Kavkaz" (Russian Grids of the North Caucasus) as cited by TASS. The total amount of damage exceeded 656 million rubles.

Cryptocurrency mining is prohibited in the republics of the North Caucasus until the spring of 2031. However, many illegal miners remain in the regions, stealing electricity by bypassing meters or connecting to the grid directly without contracts.

5 underground farms were discovered in Karachay-Cherkessia (damage of 104.1 million rubles), two in the Stavropol Territory (1 million rubles) and North Ossetia (390 thousand rubles), and one more in Kabardino-Balkaria (5.8 million rubles).

The most significant damage to energy companies was caused by 14 farms in Ingushetia — 455.5 million rubles. The largest number of illegal miners was identified in Dagestan. There, 79 farms were found, which caused damage amounting to 89.5 million rubles.

"Dagestan still leads in the number of illegal mining cases. This is related to attempts by certain citizens to profit without using their own funds," the energy company reported.

On December 8, at a meeting of the Council for Strategic Development and National Projects, Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak stated that the government plans to establish both administrative and criminal liability for violations related to cryptocurrency mining. Lawyers told "RBC-Crypto" where the line between administrative and criminal offenses in the field of mining might be drawn.

In Belarus, reasons for blocking crypto exchange websites have been named. What is known.

Bitcoin mining difficulty has fallen for the third time in a row. What this indicates.

The Central Bank has proposed limiting ordinary Russians' right to purchase cryptocurrency.

AI Image Generation Without Training Speeds Up 1000%: Method: The Most Concise "Three-Stage Pipeline"

AI image generation is powerful but often feels slow for users. To address this without hardware dependencies, model fine-tuning, or dynamic runtime optimizations, researchers propose MrFlow (Multi-Resolution Flow Matching). This method uses a simple three-stage pipeline: first, generate a low-resolution structural draft; second, upscale it to high resolution in pixel space using a super-resolution model like Real-ESRGAN; third, add a small amount of noise and perform a single-step high-resolution refinement with the original model. This approach shifts most computations to the cheaper low-resolution stage, achieving up to 10.35x end-to-end speedup on models like Qwen-Image while maintaining image quality within ~1% of original outputs. Compared to other training-free acceleration methods, MrFlow offers better speed-quality trade-offs, works with various advanced models, and can be combined orthogonally with distillation techniques for further acceleration. The code and a ComfyUI plugin are openly available.

marsbit24m ago

AI Image Generation Without Training Speeds Up 1000%: Method: The Most Concise "Three-Stage Pipeline"

marsbit24m ago

Robinhood Chain's First Breakout Hit Is a Meme Cat: Retail Investors Dig Out CashCat's 'Original Name,' CEO Jumps on the Trend

Robinhood Chain launched its mainnet on July 1st, promoting tokenized U.S. stocks as its core feature. However, the first asset to gain significant traction was a meme token called CASHCAT, which surged over 1700% in 24 hours, reaching a market cap of $120 million. The token's narrative stems from Robinhood's early history: CEO Vlad Tenev revealed the company's initial working name was "CashCat." CASHCAT has no official ties to Robinhood and declares itself as "pure cat" with zero utility. Tenev added fuel by tweeting on July 8th that the chain is "great for memes," which the community saw as implicit approval. The hype has attracted copycat tokens on other chains like Solana and impersonator accounts promoting scams. The article highlights the extreme volatility and risks associated with this new, illiquid meme token on a fledgling blockchain, cautioning investors to verify contracts and treat any investment as high-risk speculation.

marsbit25m ago

Robinhood Chain's First Breakout Hit Is a Meme Cat: Retail Investors Dig Out CashCat's 'Original Name,' CEO Jumps on the Trend

marsbit25m ago

Crypto Regulation Could Shift This Month as SEC Moves Ahead With Safe Harbor Proposal

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) may release a key crypto rulemaking proposal, known as Regulation Crypto, as early as July. This marks a significant policy shift under Chair Paul Atkins, moving from enforcement actions toward formal rulemaking to provide regulatory clarity. The proposal is expected to create safe harbors and exemptions for certain activities like DeFi and tokenized securities, potentially benefiting startups valued under $5 million and allowing fundraising up to $75 million. It also outlines conditions for when a token would no longer be treated as a security. Concurrently, the fate of the broader CLARITY Act legislation remains uncertain; if it fails to pass by August 2026, the SEC's own rules could become the primary framework for the U.S. crypto market.

TheNewsCrypto35m ago

Crypto Regulation Could Shift This Month as SEC Moves Ahead With Safe Harbor Proposal

TheNewsCrypto35m ago

CASHCAT Market Cap Surpasses $100 Million! Robinhood Chain Goes Viral

The meme coin CASHCAT has skyrocketed over 1300% in 24 hours, surpassing a $130 million market cap and bringing significant attention to the Robinhood Chain and its meme launch platform, Noxa.fi. Noxa.fi is a multi-chain meme launchpad that recently added support for Robinhood Chain. It enforces key rules for launches on this network: a low base fee of 0.0005 ETH, instant listing on Uniswap V3, a 1% standard trading fee (no additional token tax), and anti-sniping measures for the first hour to prevent bot manipulation. Currently, 9 of the top 10 tokens by market cap on Robinhood Chain were launched via Noxa.fi. The leader is CASHCAT ($130M), which carries a narrative tied to Robinhood's original considered name, "Cash Cat." Other notable tokens include GME ($4M) and DIH ($4.1M). The article cautions that meme coins are driven purely by hype and community sentiment, with volatile and often short lifecycles. To participate, users need to configure the Robinhood Chain network, bridge assets using supported bridges, and can track tokens on platforms like GMGN and DEX Screener.

Foresight News54m ago

CASHCAT Market Cap Surpasses $100 Million! Robinhood Chain Goes Viral

Foresight News54m ago

Collateral Dollars: How Does a 'Second-Layer Dollar' Above Stablecoins Form?

Collateral Dollars: How Does a "Second Layer of Dollars" Form on Top of Stablecoins? Most assume stablecoins replicate Eurodollar functions, expanding the offshore dollar system. However, stablecoins primarily replace specific functions like operational dollar balances for settlement. They do not inherently create new dollar credit; they substitute existing claims. The key question is: what happens when financial intermediaries use stablecoins as collateral to create a new layer of dollar-denominated claims? This "collateral dollar" channel operates through secured lending, not direct money creation. A money-like event only occurs when a liability issued against the controlled stablecoin is funded, rolled over, or accepted at near-par value by another balance sheet. The discount (haircut) prices the gap between "effective control over the token" and "reliable convertibility to bank dollars." Elasticity stems not from the stablecoin itself but from the liability issued against it and the willingness of third-party balance sheets to treat that liability as a near-par asset. Compared to the traditional Eurodollar system—where elasticity originates from bank deposit creation—the stablecoin collateral chain is structurally different. Eurodollar deposits are credit-expansive from inception. Stablecoins are initially substitutive; elasticity emerges later if an intermediary's liability against them gains monetary acceptance. Stablecoins disrupt specific tiers of the offshore dollar system, mainly replacing operational settlement balances. They do not replace the need for full dollar balance-sheet capacity (credit lines, hedging, maturity transformation). For systemic impact, the second-layer liability must pass three tests: transferability, funding capacity, and monetary acceptance (being fundable or held at par by others). Pressure transmission also differs. In the Eurodollar system, stress moves up a hierarchy of claims. In a stablecoin collateral chain, the second-layer liability can lose its money-like status well before the underlying stablecoin faces a run, often triggered by haircut increases and margin calls that create a dynamic spiral of falling token prices and rising discounts. In conclusion, the "collateral dollar" is not the stablecoin itself. It is the second-layer liability issued against a controlled token balance that is willing to be funded and maintained at near-par value. Its existence depends on that liability surviving the leap from "token liquidity" to "bank dollar liquidity."

marsbit1h ago

Collateral Dollars: How Does a 'Second-Layer Dollar' Above Stablecoins Form?

marsbit1h ago

Trading

Spot