The government of Buryatia has supported the introduction of a year-round ban on cryptocurrency mining, reports TASS. This will help stabilize the energy supply, explained the Ministry of Transport, Energy, and Road Infrastructure Development of the republic.
"The government of Buryatia has supported the introduction of a year-round ban on mining due to the existing serious deficit in electrical capacity. In three nearby regions—Irkutsk Oblast, Zabaykalsky Krai, and Buryatia itself—the deficit reaches almost 3,000 MW. Previously, restrictions were only in place during the winter period of high demand—from November 15 to March 15. Therefore, a complete ban on mining represents one of the measures aimed at stabilizing the energy supply and the rational use of available resources," stated the ministry.
On December 16, Kommersant reported that the government plans to introduce a year-round ban on cryptocurrency mining in the south of Buryatia and Zabaykalsky Krai starting in 2026. This follows from the draft protocol for the meeting of the government commission on the development of the electric power industry dated December 10. The date of the meeting where this issue will be decided was not specified.
At the beginning of 2025, mining was restricted in territories of Russia recognized as energy-deficient until the spring of 2031. The list included the republics of the North Caucasus, LPR, DPR, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson Oblasts, where the ban is year-round. Mining was restricted during the heating season in Buryatia, Zabaykalsky Krai, and the south of Irkutsk Oblast, but the governor of the latter, Igor Kobzev, secured a complete ban on mining in his region for the next several years.
Buryatia, Zabaykalsky Krai, and a number of other regions also sent requests for the introduction of a complete ban. But at the commission meeting held in June, the decision on Buryatia and Zabaykalsky Krai was postponed. It was decided to first assess the lost revenues of the grid complex and prepare a regulatory framework for the redistribution of miners' capacity in favor of social facilities.
In September, the Ministry of Energy reported that it saw no grounds for introducing new bans on mining. The ministry stated that it had not received any requests for bans from regional authorities and that the country's energy system is coping with the load.
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