Deputy Energy Minister Of Russia Proposes Legalization Of Crypto Mining In His Country

Crypto mining, will be legalized in Russia? *photo: doc. twitter)

JAKARTA – Deputy Energy Minister of Russia, Evgeny Grabchak, proposed removing the legal vacuum around crypto mining in the country and introducing clear regulations regarding crypto mining. This statement continues the recent series of support for the crypto industry in the country from state officials.

Speaking at the first national conference of legal cryptocurrency miners in Irkutsk on Saturday, March 26, Grabchak called for introducing a regulatory framework for the sector as soon as possible.

“The legal vacuum makes it difficult to regulate this area and establish clear rules of the game. This legal vacuum needs to be [eliminated] as soon as possible. If we want to somehow with this activity, and we have no other choice in the current reality, we have to introduce legal regulation, add the concept of mining to the regulatory framework", Grabchak said, as quoted by Cointelegraph.

He also suggested that it would be prudent to allow regional authorities, not their federal counterparts, to set mining sites and possible energy quotas. "Maybe it should be synchronized with regional development strategies and other industrial sector plans", he added.

Grabchak's speech placed mining in Russia in the strategic perspective of the country. He also expressed his distrust in the market's ability to regulate the quantity and allocation of mining operators. Earlier, on March 21, Deputy Prime Minister, Aleksandr Novak, had stated that it “makes sense” to legalize crypto mining in Russia.

These statements continue the string of support voiced for the crypto industry after the surprise attack by the Central Bank of Russia (CBR), which called for an outright ban on mining and trading last January.

In March, a working group within the Duma, or lower house of parliament, called for “clear regulation of the digital asset industry” as the most effective approach to lowering the risks associated with crypto adoption in the country.

Russia itself has been looking at crypto assets, as an alternative to the country's income after facing Western sanctions, due to their invasion of Ukraine, since February 24.