The Russian government has banned crypto mining in ten regions for a period of six years, according to reporting by the state-owned news agency Tass. Russia has cited the industry’s high power consumption rates as the primary reason behind the ban. Crypto is particularly power-hungry, as mining operations already account for nearly 2.5 percent of US energy use.

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[–] explodicle@sh.itjust.works 12 points 5 months ago

The fact that they're spending money with a ban instead of raising money with a pigouvian tax tells us that they don't just want to save resources.

My conspiracy theory: the Russian economy is on the brink of collapse. The government is worried that its subjects will abandon the Ruble, and a mine is a huge source of money that people can use to flee the country or defect.