Finance Ministry says ban on household crypto mining makes little sense

The ban on household mining in Russia makes no sense. This was stated by Alexey Yakovlev, deputy director of the Department of Financial Policy at the Ministry of Finance, during a roundtable.

“We believe that the focus should be on developing industrial mining, but banning household mining probably doesn’t make sense,” the official stressed.

Yakovlev said that in the near term the Ministry of Finance would refine the provisions regulating mining. The emphasis will be on maximum economic feasibility of cryptocurrency mining and “minimizing risks in terms of anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing and ensuring the country’s energy security.”

The definition of mining and the basic regulatory mechanisms are laid out in the Ministry of Finance’s draft “On Digital Currency”.

In February, the Ministry of Economic Development proposed allowing mining activity in regions with an “electricity-generation surplus” and to introduce reasonable tariffs for its use by companies. In turn, the Ministry of Energy advocated “regional quotas on mining”.

Earlier, Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin acknowledged the “the need to integrate cryptocurrencies” into Russia’s economy, noting that the relevant decisions should be taken jointly with the Bank of Russia. The regulator, for its part, continues to advocate a complete ban on cryptocurrency circulation and mining, despite sanctions.

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