Cryptocurrency mining needs to be regulated “as soon as possible,” Russian Deputy Minister of Energy Evgeniy Grabchak said during Russia’s first national conference of legal bitcoin miners, held recently in Irkutsk. The Siberian oblast, where electricity rates start at just $0.01 per kWh, has been dubbed “the mining capital of Russia” as coin minting in the region spiked after China cracked down on the industry last May.

The legal vacuum makes it difficult to regulate this field and establish transparent rules of the game. It needs to be eliminated as soon as possible… We have no other options in the current reality. The legal regulation, fitting the concept of mining into the regulatory framework must be implemented.” — Russian Deputy Minister of Energy Evgeniy Grabchak

Russia’s deputy minister of energy further suggested that it would be more expedient to determine sites for mining facilities and the available energy capacities at the regional instead of federal level. These quotas must be in compliance with the development plans of the Russian regions, other industries, and the energy system, he added.