Russia has extended its cryptocurrency mining restrictions to Moscow, the surrounding Moscow Region, and parts of the Kursk Region, curbing mining capacity in one of the world's largest Bitcoin producing countries.

The ban was published on the Russian government's legal information portal and reported by Anadolu Agency on Friday, arriving at a time when the Bitcoin network has already exhibited signs of deceleration.

The implications extend well beyond Russia's borders. According to the Hashrate Index Q3 2026 heatmap, Russia accounts for approximately 17.2% of the global Bitcoin hash rate, second only to the United States. Each successive regulatory restriction shifts mining activity and its associated rewards toward competing regions. The total Bitcoin network hash rate has now declined for two consecutive quarters and sits nearly 12% below its December 2025 peak. This contraction follows the April 2024 Bitcoin halving, which reduced the per-block mining reward from 6.25 BTC to 3.125 BTC and compressed profit margins industry-wide, making regulatory access and electricity costs even more decisive for operational viability.

Scope of the Moscow Order

The new restrictions take effect on August 15 and will remain in force through the end of 2032. They cover Moscow, the Moscow Region, and several districts within the Kursk Region.

Russia's Ministry of Energy stated in the explanatory note to the draft decree that high demand from energy-intensive mining facilities can strain the power grid and create capacity problems for other consumers. The ministry described the restriction of mining as a necessary measure to ensure electricity supply amid continuously growing demand from data centers.

According to TASS, 65 data centers with a combined capacity of 734 megawatts operate across Moscow and the surrounding region. Nineteen of these facilities, with a total capacity of 233 megawatts, are located within the Moscow Region itself. Authorities had initially planned to implement the restrictions on July 1 but subsequently agreed to begin enforcement in mid-August.

Russia's Position in Global Mining

Russia's significance in the global mining landscape underscores the importance of the latest ban. The Hashrate Index reports that the United States holds approximately 36.7% of total global hash rate, while Russia contributes roughly 162 exahashes per second.

Domestic estimates broadly align with these figures. The newspaper Kommersant reported that Russia accounted for nearly 15.5% of global mining in 2025. The Association of Industrial Mining placed Russia's share between 13% and 17%, depending on the estimation methodology employed. Earlier assessments, including data cited by Cryptonews from the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance, produced notably lower figures for Russia, reflecting the inherent difficulty of precisely quantifying mining activity.

Kommersant also noted that the financial burden on Russian miners had been rising even before the latest restrictions. Grid connection costs exceeded five rubles per kilowatt hour—above the global average—making it increasingly difficult for smaller operators to remain profitable.

Capacity Migration Toward the US and Central Asia

While mining operations in Russia face mounting obstacles, activity is expected to relocate rather than cease entirely. According to Cryptonews, earlier Russian mining bans affected approximately 50,000 operators across 13 regions, with the majority of displaced capacity projected to shift to the United States, Kazakhstan, and other Central Asian countries.

The pattern has precedent. China's 2021 mining crackdown displaced an estimated half of global hash rate at the time, much of which migrated to the United States and Kazakhstan. Kazakhstan subsequently experienced severe grid strain and by 2022 introduced a surcharge on crypto mining electricity and periodic disconnections, illustrating that receiving countries can face their own energy pressures when absorbing large volumes of mining capacity.

BitRiver, one of Russia's largest mining organizations, is regarded as among the most affected businesses due to its reliance on inexpensive electricity in Siberia.

For the broader Bitcoin market, a significant drop in Russian hash rate could temporarily reduce mining difficulty, boosting profitability for miners worldwide until the network undergoes automatic adjustment. Given that Bitcoin continues to trade below its late-2025 highs, such short-term benefits are expected to accrue primarily to efficient operators, while outdated facilities may be forced to shut down.

A Sustained Regulatory Campaign

The Moscow ban represents just one component of Russia's broader effort to restrict cryptocurrency mining. On January 1, 2026, authorities imposed a year-long mining ban in ten regions, including Dagestan, Chechnya, North Ossetia, and the Russian-occupied areas of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson. Similar restrictions were also applied in Buryatia and the Trans-Baikal Territory, with officials indicating that additional bans could be introduced in other regions at the request of local governments.

These measures mark a notable shift, as Russia only legalized cryptocurrency mining in August 2024. The central bank had previously encouraged the use of digital assets for cross-border payments following the imposition of Western sanctions. Energy constraints, rather than financial policy considerations, now appear to be the dominant factor shaping which jurisdictions can sustain Bitcoin mining operations.