"Illegal miners will have to be imprisoned.” What will happen to cryptocurrencies mining in Russia?

Sergey Kondratiev, Deputy Head of the Economic Department of the Institute for Energy and Finance, gave a comment to "Lenta.ru" about cryptocurrencies mining in Russia.

“They [the miners] are behaving in bad faith towards regular business. In Russia, the owner of a mini-bakery or cafe pays for electricity 30-50 percent more than cryptominers,” Sergei Kondratiev, Deputy Head of the Economic Department of the Institute of Energy and Finance said.

Experts find it difficult to answer when to expect the emergence of clear rules regarding mining in Russia. Most likely, their creation will take several years. “There are not very many specialists in our state administration bodies who deal with this issue. But the development of the regulatory framework itself takes a lot of time. […] It also affects related industries - energy, equipment manufacturers, and the system of mutual settlements,” the expert noted. At this time, keeping the power consumption of mining within any limits will not work, he added.

“Probably, over the years, we will repeatedly encounter difficulties, since the share of illegal farms can grow significantly at current prices on the stock exchanges, and this can become a problem at the level of specific regions,” Kondratiev said.