Starting August 15, cryptocurrency mining and participation in mining pools will be prohibited in Moscow and the Moscow Region. The restriction will be in effect for over six years – until December 31, 2032.

Eight municipal districts of the Kursk region and the city of Lgov will also be subject to the ban. The decree was signed by Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin and has already been published on the legal information portal.

The capital region was decided to be closed to miners due to the strain on power grids. According to the Moscow Region Ministry of Energy, digital coin mining consumes about one gigawatt of power, while such activity does not bring significant benefits to the local economy.

Moscow and the Moscow Region will join the list of territories where mining is already restricted due to electricity shortages. This list includes several republics of the North Caucasus, new regions of Russia, and individual districts of the Irkutsk region.

After the ban comes into effect, even registration in the Federal Tax Service registry will not help. It allows legal mining only where such activity is generally permitted.