NOVO-OGARYOVO, July 17. /TASS/. The Russian authorities are working on decisions on tariffs and taxes that will affect cryptocurrency mining, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a meeting on economic issues.
He noted the risks associated with the increase in electricity consumption during the mining of cryptocurrencies and stressed the need to "make the right and timely decisions at the level of federal legislation."
"I have already given instructions to regulate the mining of digital currencies in Russia, including taxation and tariff decisions. Let's discuss today what we have achieved and how this work should be structured in the future," the president said, after which the meeting continued behind closed doors.
Putin added that every year, 16 bln kWh are spent on cryptocurrency mining in Russia, which is almost 1.5% of the country's total electricity consumption and this figure is also growing. "According to the Ministry of Energy, Russia spends 16 bln kWh annually for these purposes, which is almost 1.5% of the total electricity consumption in the country and the figure is growing," he said at a meeting on economic issues.
If cryptocurrency mining remains uncontrolled, some regions will not have enough resources for enterprises, social facilities, and housing, Putin added.
"Uncontrolled growth of electricity consumption for cryptocurrency mining may lead to a shortage of electricity in certain regions. We have already seen this in the Irkutsk region, Buryatia, and the Trans-Baikal region," he warned.