PANews reported on May 9th that, according to Bits.media, the State Duma's Committee on State Construction and Legislation recommended the first reading of a government-submitted bill on criminal liability for illegal cryptocurrency mining. The bill would add Article 171.6 to the Criminal Code, "Illegal Mining of Digital Assets and Activities of Mining Infrastructure Operators," applicable to mining activities not included in the state register and the unlicensed provision of mining infrastructure services.

The severity of the punishment depends on the seriousness of the crime: those who earn or cause losses exceeding 3.5 million rubles may be fined up to 1.5 million rubles or two years' income, or sentenced to forced labor for up to two years; those who commit the crime in an organized group or whose earnings exceed 13 million rubles may be fined up to 2.5 million rubles or three years' income, sentenced to forced labor or imprisonment for up to five years, and may be subject to an additional fine of up to 400,000 rubles or six months' income. In all cases, the mined cryptocurrency is confiscated. The government states that approximately 50,000 entities are currently engaged in mining in Russia, but only 1,489 (609 legal entities and 880 sole proprietorships) are included in the national register.