Mining accounts for more than 2% of the total volume of electricity consumed in Russia, which indicates the need for regulation of this market. According to Interfax, this statement was made by Vasily Shpak, Deputy Head of the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

According to him, cryptocurrency mining consumes more energy than agriculture.

“In this sense, it is not possible for us to regard mining as an industrial or industrial activity,” the official said.

Shpak suggested regulating this industry to make it transparent to the government and protect miners from potential risks.

“Our position is absolutely clear: mining should be recognized, regulated and integrated into industrial activity,” said the Deputy Head of the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

Recall that this week the State Duma registered an updated draft law “On Mining in the Russian Federation”. The previous document was withdrawn.

Provisions for registration of mining participants and “amnesty” for miners were excluded from the new bill.

According to the Cambridge Center for Alternative Finance, in mid-May Russia moved up to fifth place in terms of share in bitcoin hashrate, with an indicator of 4.7%. It was surpassed by the USA (37.8%), China (21.1%), Kazakhstan (13.2%) and Canada (6.5%).