Government Commission to Discuss Cryptocurrency Mining Ban in Moscow and the Moscow Region

On May 18, the Government Commission for Energy Development will consider the possibility of imposing restrictions on cryptocurrency mining in Moscow and the Moscow region. This was announced by Russian Deputy Minister of Energy Pyotr Konyushenko during the Caucasian Investment Forum, as reported by TASS.
In early April, Sergey Voropanov, the Minister of Energy for the Moscow Region, emphasized the need to ban mining in the area. He stated that cryptocurrency extraction does not benefit the regional economy and that a ban could have a positive impact in other regions. For instance, authorities in the Irkutsk region have claimed that mining restrictions have relieved the energy system .
Following Voropanov s statement, Andrey Maximov, the Director of the Department for Energy Development at the Ministry of Energy, clarified that no requests had been received from the authorities of Moscow and the Moscow region regarding mining restrictions. He noted that for such a matter to be considered by the government commission, the regional head must submit a request.