Gray miners of Irkutsk owe 650 million rubles.

Gray miners must return almost 650 million rubles. “Irkutskenergosbyt” according to court decisions that have entered into force. In total, over the past five years, the company has filed 2,113 lawsuits over the illegal use of electricity for cryptocurrency mining, winning more than half of the cases. writes RBC Crypto.

Gray or household miners are those who install mining equipment in places not intended for this purpose – in garages, private houses, on apartment balconies and personal plots. Powerful devices increase the load on household electrical networks, which leads to accidents on the lines.

The Irkutsk region is popular among miners due to low electricity prices and a suitable climate. At the same time, household miners most often pay for electricity at preferential rates. In December, the State Duma proposed depriving miners of electricity benefits, enshrining this in law.

Many defendants justify the high energy consumption by operating heat guns needed to heat the room. It is reported that in one of the proceedings, the accused stated that he installed ten heat guns in a room of 20 square meters. m, because he just loves warmth. A defendant in another case said that he uses a boiler around the clock to feed an artificial reservoir with distilled water.

On November 1, regulations on mining came into force in Russia. All legal entities and individual entrepreneurs mining cryptocurrency are required to register in a special register of the Federal Tax Service. Individuals do not need to do this, but they can engage in mining using electricity of no more than 6 thousand kWh per month.

In December, illegal miners began to be disconnected from the network in the Irkutsk region. And from January 1, 2025, in parts of Russia, including in the south of the Irkutsk region, mining was banned for the winter period.

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