Russia’s cryptocurrency mining sector is consuming significant amounts of electricity while generating relatively modest tax revenues, according to data presented at an industry meeting in Moscow.
Annual electricity consumption by crypto miners is estimated at 16bn kWh, or about 2% of Russia’s total power demand, Sergei Bezdelov, director of the Industrial Mining Association, was quoted as saying by TASS, citing energy ministry figures.
At the same time, potential tax revenues from mining remain limited. The Federal Tax Service estimates total tax liabilities for 2025 at around Rbs567mn ($7mn), including Rbs483mn in corporate tax and Rbs84mn in personal income tax, according to data presented by Denis Kuzmichev, head of taxpayer registration and accounting at the Federal Tax Service.
Mining capacity expands despite low contribution
Russia’s mining and data centre infrastructure has expanded steadily. The capacity of connected mining operations and data centres reached about 4 GW in 2025, up 33% year-on-year, according to state figures. Deputy energy minister Petr Konyushenko previously said “useful” data centre capacity is estimated at 1.7 GW, according to the TASS report, which didn't explain the difference.
Government projections indicate total data centre energy consumption could increase by at least 2.5 times by 2030, reaching around 2.5 GW. Despite this growth, the sector’s fiscal contribution remains relatively small compared with its energy usage and infrastructure scale.
Digital-assets market expands rapidly
At the same time, Russia’s broader digital-asset market continues to grow. The Central Bank of Russia reported on 16 Mar that the total volume of outstanding digital financial asset issuances reached Rbs690bn by the beginning of January, representing growth of about 150% year-on-year.
The market remains dominated by short-term rouble debt instruments, typically with maturities of less than one month, issued primarily by financial-sector participants.
The data highlight a divergence between the rapid expansion of digital asset-activity and the limited fiscal returns being generated from crypto-related operations.
