Russia's Federal Tax Service (FNS) has officially registered over 5,500 cryptocurrency miners since the legalization of the activity on November 1, 2024. This marks a pivotal shift by Moscow to bring a multi-billion dollar shadow sector under formal state supervision and tax authority.
The registrants include approximately 1,500 companies and sole proprietors, along with around 4,000 private individuals who now regularly declare their mined assets. However, authorities estimate that roughly two-thirds of active mining operations in Russia continue to operate without formal registration, highlighting a significant compliance gap.
The new legal framework imposes mandatory registration and reporting rules. All legal entities and individual entrepreneurs engaged in mining must enroll in the official tax registry and submit monthly production reports detailing the type and quantity of cryptocurrency mined. A key exemption allows private individuals to mine without registration, but only if their monthly electricity consumption for mining stays strictly below 6,000 kWh. Infrastructure providers, such as data center operators, must also register and disclose their clients.
A new tax structure, effective for 2025–2026, classifies cryptocurrency as property. Mining and crypto sales are exempt from VAT. For taxation, corporate miners face a 25% profit tax, while individuals pay income tax at rates of 13% for annual income up to 2.4 million rubles and 15% for earnings above that threshold. Operational expenses like electricity costs are deductible.
Regional bans and tougher penalties are central to the enforcement strategy. The federal government has prohibited mining in 10 to 12 energy-deficient regions, including parts of Siberia and the North Caucasus, to protect local power grids. Current penalties for non-compliance include fines up to 40,000 rubles. Looking ahead, draft legislation for 2026 could introduce criminal penalties, with large-scale illegal mining operations facing fines up to 2.5 million rubles and potential prison sentences of up to five years.
The tighter regulatory climate is already impacting major industry players. In early 2026, the FNS initiated bankruptcy proceedings against a subsidiary of BitRiver, Russia's largest mining firm, over alleged tax compliance issues and failed projects. This action signals a decisive move to reshape crypto mining into a tightly supervised, revenue-generating sector aligned with national energy and fiscal priorities.
