Russian Bitcoin miners are expressing concerns over a new government registry that gathers sensitive information, including crypto wallet addresses, amid fears of potential sanctions.
The introduction of a government registry for Bitcoin miners in Russia has sparked alarm among industry participants. The registry, operational since November 2024, is designed to collect sensitive data, which, if compromised, could pose significant risks to miners, according to Anton Gorelkin, a lawmaker focused on information policy.
Managed by Russia’s Federal Tax Service, the new registry has reportedly seen approximately 150 miners submit registration requests within the first three weeks. However, Gorelkin emphasized the anxiety surrounding data privacy, stating that any leak could expose critical information, heightening the risk of sanctions against miners. In response, the tax agency assured that the data is maintained within a “separate internal protected system,” limiting access even within the agency itself and asserting that external breaches are “practically impossible.”
“Although cybersecurity experts often emphasize that ‘everything that can leak, will eventually leak,’ the Federal Tax Service claims the risk of sensitive information exposure from its internal systems has now been reduced to zero.”
In 2024, Roskomnadzor, the Russian communications regulatory body, documented 135 data leaks, resulting in over 710 million records of sensitive information ultimately leaking online. The uptick in breaches prompted the Russian State Duma to revise its penalties for data misconduct, raising maximum fines for data breaches from 100,000 rubles (around $1,000) to an alarming 15 million rubles (approximately $150,000).
While the crypto mining sector itself is not directly subjected to international sanctions, some mining operations have still found themselves in precarious situations. Notably, in April 2022, the U.S. Department of the Treasury sanctioned BitRiver AG, along with other Russian entities, aimed at mitigating sanction evasion through cryptocurrency services.
