Illegal Miners in Russian BTC Mining Hotspot Stole $4.3M of Power

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Tim Alper

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Tim Alper

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Tim Alper is a British journalist and features writer who has worked at Cryptonews.com since 2018. He has written for media outlets such as the BBC, the Guardian, and Chosun Ilbo. He has also worked…

Last updated:

July 31, 2025

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Illegal Miners in Russian BTC Mining Hotspot Stole .3M of Power

Illegal miners in the Russian Bitcoin mining hotspot of Ingushetia stole some $4.3 million worth of electricity in the first half of 2025, the state-controlled power firm Rosseti claims.

Per an official Rosseti North Caucasus press release, illegal miners accounted for over 94% of all the electrical power stolen in the republic in the first half of the year

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.

The Russian republic of Ingushetia. (Source: Timur Ziev [CC BY-SA 3.0])

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.”

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.

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