Russia orders data centers report on miners using their services

Russian data centers and hosting providers have been obliged to share all relevant information about crypto miners using their services with the state tax authority.

The new order from the revenue agency comes as the Russian government prepares to limit the use of computing power and electrical energy in the minting of digital currencies.

Mining infrastructure operators tasked to report on miners

All operators of data processing hardware and infrastructure offered to other people and organizations for the purpose of mining cryptocurrency in Russia are now required to transfer detailed information about their clients to the Federal Tax Service (FNS).

A new reporting form, along with its specific data points, has been approved by the tax office with an order which went into force on July 30, the official newspaper of the Russian legislature, Parlamentskaya Gazeta, unveiled on Wednesday, noting:

“The FNS will know almost everything about miners – from the rates they pay for electricity, to the model of their equipment and its running time.”

Russia recognized the minting of digital coins like Bitcoin as a legal business activity in 2024. Since November, both companies and individual entrepreneurs have been allowed to mine as long as they register with the FNS.

The registration is not obligatory for private citizens consuming less than 6,000 kWh of electricity monthly to power their mining rigs. Data centers and hosting providers are listed in a separate register of “mining infrastructure operators.”

When registering with the tax authority, miners provide independent information about their activities and equipment. The latest FNS order, which amends the country’s taxation rules, establishes a procedure to collect similar data from companies that rent out space and hardware to miners.

These include data center and mining farm operators, as well as mining hosting services and any platforms that provide computing power to third parties. Failure to submit the required information in full and on time will result in fines and even deregistration.

Russia’s tax service wants to know everything about miners

The details requested by the Russian state are quite comprehensive. Mining hotels are expected to inform tax agents about the electricity tariffs they set for their clients, as well as the total amount of power consumed at each individual rate, the business news portal RBC noted in a report.

Hosting providers will have to indicate the manufacturer, model, and factory number of the mining units employed by each user. The mining algorithm, maximum computing power, energy rating, and operating hours must be stated on the new form, too.

Bitcoin farm operators need to report the corporate and tax registration numbers of legal entities and entrepreneurs using their services, as well as the full names and passport details of private individuals among their customers.

For each client, they must file info about what cryptocurrency they mine and in what volume. If a miner is using a mining pool, the latter should be identified. The FNS also asks for a link to a page allowing it to monitor the operation of their mining machines in real time.

Legalization sparked a mining boom in Russia, but authorities have been worried about the small number of registered miners, estimated at less than a third of all mining enterprises. Growing energy shortages in parts of the country have been another cause of concern addressed with restrictions on the activity in about a dozen energy-deficient regions.

Earlier in July, President Vladimir Putin justified the measures, emphasizing Russia should have a balanced approach to exploiting its resources. Soon after, legislative amendments prohibiting crypto mining at data centers advanced in the Russian parliament. The move is expected to save computing capacity for other applications such as big data processing and artificial intelligence (AI) development.