The Russian Ministry of Justice recently proposed a new set of penalties targeting illegal cryptocurrency mining activities.

According to the proposal, first-time violations could face fines of up to 1.5 million rubles or up to 2 years of forced labor. But what if the circumstances are more severe? For example, if the profit amount is particularly large or if organized crime groups are involved, the penalties are directly upgraded—potentially up to 5 years in prison.

This reflects Russia's tightening stance on cryptocurrency mining activities. On one hand, the energy costs and equipment investments make individual mining inherently risky; on the other hand, issues such as electricity theft and environmental pollution involved in illegal mining have indeed attracted government attention. For practitioners, this signal is very clear: engaging in mining in Russia must be done through official channels, or the consequences will not be light.