Electricity consumption by cryptocurrency miners in Russia in 2023 reached 1.5 GW. This was reported by Nikolai Shulginov, head of the Russian Ministry of Energy, to РИА Новости.
The highest figure, meanwhile, was recorded in the Siberian Federal District.
According to the minister’s forecasts, consumption is expected to rise to 5–6 GW in the future. The main factor behind this is the mass opening of mining centres.
According to BitRiver’s estimates, the data-centre operator, Russia, in the first quarter of 2023 for the first time ranked second in the world by the volume of mining capacity deployed — 1 GW.
The regulatory bill has been registered in the State Duma since mid-November 2022. It would require individuals and legal entities to report mined cryptocurrencies to the tax authorities, indicating the address to which the proceeds are credited. Its adoption is expected in 2024.