Chinese Bitcoin miners received draft notices in Russia

Source: Heart of Computing Power

February 23, 2025, the Chinese Consulate in Russia once again reminds Chinese citizens in Russia to pay attention to Presidential Decree No. 821 issued by Putin.

This decree has thrown a very real “life or death” dilemma for Chinese miners in Russia:

Either give up your residence status, or go serve in the military first.

If you want to stay compliant and earn rubles, you might have to go through a conflict zone first.

The decree is very clear:

Foreign male nationals aged 18 to 65 who want to apply for a long-term Russian residence permit must agree to serve at least one year in Russian military units or similar.

Once, miners went to Siberia for cheap electricity, but now, with the mining machines not yet paid off, people might be considered “consumables” first.

Today, those gold rushers and the billions of hash power they hold—can they really walk away unscathed?

1. The compliant deadlock: To stay legal, first join the army

Many miners who went to Russia think of themselves as just cross-border money makers, mere travelers with no connection to the front lines.

But since last year, a chain of targeted measures against foreign miners has quietly been laid out.

First step, “lure the snake out.”

In 2024, Russia officially legalized cryptocurrency mining, once seen as a paradise for miners.

But the premise is:

Individuals or companies with high power consumption must register in the official “Miner Registry,” fully disclose wallet addresses and income.

Failure to report results in hefty fines and confiscation of equipment.

This move forces all miners seeking legal, stable income to voluntarily reveal their identities and details.

Once the details are disclosed, the next step follows naturally.

Second step, “identity locking.”

As a foreigner, if you want to legally register large-scale mining,

you must hold a Russian long-term residence permit or have a registered address in Russia.

And this is precisely the most dangerous trap in the entire setup.

Third step, “strike the snake at its vital point.”

In 2025, Presidential Decree No. 821 comes into effect, changing the rules for applying for long-term residence permits.

You must either submit a military service contract with the Russian army or provide proof of being unfit for service.

This move directly targets the large number of foreign male miners in Russia—

they originally hoped to register as sole proprietors or companies to obtain long-term residence, but now that path is blocked.

The closed loop is thus sealed.

To mine legally, you must register with real names;

To register, you need a residence permit;

To get a residence permit, you must be ready to go to the front lines at any time.

Using legalization as bait to make you appear, then heavy penalties to force compliance, and finally, a residence permit to turn you into a potential soldier.

You think you’re just bringing machines to mine Bitcoin, but in wartime, machines are just “mines.”

2. The countdown to proxy holding and “run signatures”

Since obtaining long-term residence carries risks, can miners rely on business visas to operate in the gray area?

The answer is no; this route is being completely shut down.

In the past, many miners exploited the “exit every 90 days” loophole or had locals hold their mining farms.

But from 2025 onward, Russia has taken several harsh measures, targeting individuals, behaviors, and assets one by one.

First, immigration controls tightened significantly.

The “Controlled Persons Registry” effective February 2025 is very precise.

If a visa issue arises, bank accounts are immediately controlled, and daily spending limits are imposed.

More critically, police can detain and initiate deportation within 48 hours without court approval.

Using business visas for mining is essentially illegal work, and you could be the next to be expelled.

Second, the legal classification of actions has changed.

According to the criminal law amendment draft in December 2025, illegal mining faces up to 5 years in prison and hefty fines.

What was once considered a violation is now a criminal offense.

The survival space in the gray area is shrinking inch by inch.

Next, assets are targeted.

In February 2026, Putin further signed new laws allowing courts to confiscate mining equipment and Bitcoin involved in illegal activities.

Nasdaq-listed company The9 once said Russia might “nationalize and confiscate assets of foreign companies under certain circumstances.”

In Russia, it doesn’t matter whose name the machines are under; if suspected of illegality, they are confiscated.

And you can’t hide it.

Since late 2024, Russia’s power grid has built an integrated inspection network.

From the air, thermal imaging drones precisely locate; on the ground, AI-powered smart meters monitor in real time; at terminals, intelligent algorithms identify mining activities.

In Dagestan alone, from January to November 2025, 73 cases of electricity theft for mining were uncovered, causing losses of 85.7 million rubles.

People, behaviors, assets, hiding places—all four routes are blocked.

The window for covert mining via visa loopholes is closing.

3. The state only needs energy, not hash power

To take a step back, even if you manage to get past identity hurdles and avoid proxy holding risks, there’s not enough electricity in Russia for mining.

After domestic crackdowns in 2021, Siberia became a refuge for global miners due to its natural low temperatures and cheap electricity.

Russia’s largest mining company, BitRiver, started here, managing up to 175,000 machines at its peak.

Back then, as long as you had power and courage, money flowed in.

But the power grid can’t sustain it anymore.

By the end of 2024, miners consumed about 1.5% of Russia’s total electricity, with many regions nearing overload.

Aging infrastructure needs maintenance, and residents’ heating can’t be interrupted.

In non-gasified areas of Russia, electric heating is the most affordable winter solution, so these “big power consumers” naturally became the first targets.

Starting in 2025, bans were implemented.

Several regions in North Caucasus and Siberia experienced complete power outages or seasonal restrictions, and even BitRiver couldn’t withstand.

But what brought it down wasn’t Bitcoin prices, but a combination of judicial debt collection, account freezes, and regional power restrictions.

For foreign miners without local background,

under the triple squeeze of “identity hurdles (military contract + controlled persons registry) + energy restrictions + asset confiscation,”

they are the first to be sacrificed.

The window for wild growth relying on cheap electricity and boldness has closed.

In the face of strict policies, hash power is just code that can be cut off at any moment.

When pulling out of China in 2021, everyone bet on one thing:

As long as there’s power and the emperor is far away, they can survive.

Four years later, the facts tell a different story.

You can’t outrun a country’s regulation, nor its conscription order.

In the story of global miner migration, Russia’s chapter is coming to an end.

For those who haven’t withdrawn yet, and their machines, the time window is running out.