Russia’s Bitcoin Mining Under Siege: Illegal Miners Siphon $4.3M in Electricity by Mid-2025

Power Pirates Plunder Russia’s Crypto Boom

While Moscow debates crypto regulation, underground mining operations are bypassing the system—literally. A surge in unauthorized Bitcoin mining has drained $4.3M worth of electricity from the grid in just six months, exposing gaping infrastructure vulnerabilities.

Energy Theft Goes Industrial-Scale

Forged documents, hijacked substations, and entire warehouses of rigs running off-grid. These aren’t hobbyists—they’re organized groups exploiting Russia’s cheap power and lax oversight. Regional authorities now scramble to contain losses that could fund a small army (or a banker’s bonus).

The Irony of Unregulated Crypto in an Energy Superpower

Russia produces enough electricity to mine Bitcoin at scale legally—yet the black market thrives. Maybe when energy executives stop treating electrons like a Soviet-era commodity, they’ll grasp why decentralized finance exists.

Illegal Miners in Russian BTC Hotspot ‘Stole 35.4M kWh’

The firm said that the total volume of unaccounted consumption in the republic in the same time period was 37.5 million kWh. This power was worth over $4.4 million, Rosseti added.

But almost all of this was attributable to illegal crypto miners, the power provider said. These miners stole 35.4 million kWh from the grid.

The firm said the lion’s share of the power was stolen at four large “illegal mining farms.” The provider suggested it had shut down all four, adding that it had seized 450 rigs from the farms.

In the first half of the year, the republic’s power firm Ingushenergo said its specialists identified 177 cases of illegal electricity use.

Providers Use Drones to Hunt Illegal Miners

Crypto mining is illegal during the winter months in Ingushetia until March 15, 2031. It has also been banned in neighboring North Caucasus republics.

However, bitcoin mining remains popular throughout the region, and has been blamed for a series of power outages in Ingushetia.

In nearby Abkhazia, observers say entire villages now “buzz” with the sound of whirring crypto mining hardware.

In February, Ingushetia power engineers warned that illegal crypto mining was leading to a “high risk of accidents and power outages.”

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In Dagestan, energy providers have responded by offering their staff bonuses for discovering underground crypto mining farms.

Russian power providers have also rolled out new IT systems to help them hunt illegal miners. These include drones fitted with thermal imaging cameras.

Bitcoin Focus

Russian law stipulates that firms and individuals can mine crypto without informing the tax authorities if they use less than 6,000 kWh of power per month.

However, industrial miners who do not register with the Federal Tax Service will likely face criminal punishment under new proposals.

Around 90% of industrial crypto miners focus their efforts on Bitcoin (BTC) in Russia, domestic industry chiefs claim.