Card with a bit: a surge in black mining has been recorded in Russia
Due to the growth of cryptocurrency exchange rates in the first half of 2025, there was a surge in mining crimes. In the first half of 2025, the attackers stole more than $2.17 billion from crypto exchanges and from crypto wallets. At the same time, black mining remains one of the most common crimes in this area. Such cryptocurrency miners usually have to buy powerful graphics cards — their sales have tripled over this period. The main boom occurred in Dagestan, Ingushetia and Karachay-Cherkessia. For more information, see the Izvestia article.
Regions are leaders in the number of black miners
Crimes related to cryptocurrency activities have already beaten the figures for 2024. So, in the first half of 2025, attackers stole more than $2.17 billion from crypto exchanges and from crypto wallets. The most popular method was hacking exchanges: in February, attackers gained access to Bybit wallets, resulting in losses of about $1.5 billion. In June, attackers attacked Iran's Nobitex and stole more than $90 million, the BI.ZONE press service reported.
Black mining remains one of the most common crimes in this area. The figure of damage from it may grow by the end of 2025, said Igor Bederov, founder of the Internet Search company, NTI SafeNet market expert. He clarified that in June alone, the Investigative Committee seized more than 2,000 devices for illegal mining connected to the Irkutskenergosbyt network, and in St. Petersburg, the police eliminated a similar farm, the damage from which amounted to almost 10 million rubles. Prior to this, 200 mining rigs were discovered in the village of Chapaevskoye (KCR), consuming 12 thousand kWh, and in Novosibirsk the underground network caused damage of 197 million.
— Since 2025, a complete ban on mining has been introduced in six republics of the Caucasus due to energy shortages and high losses. The Irkutsk region attracts miners with cheap electricity (tariffs are three to four times lower than the Russian average), especially in Irkutsk, Angarsk, Shelekhov. Buryatia and Transbaikalia also have an excess of cheap energy from hydroelectric power plants, but the networks are not designed for constant load," the expert added.
According to analysts at the Stolypin Institute of Growth Economics, in 2024 the damage from illegal mining amounted to about 10 billion rubles. The editorial board sent a request with a request to estimate losses based on the results of the first half of 2025.
— Black mining remains an attractive activity in a number of regions of the Russian Federation. The Caucasus has been and remains the leader in the number of black miners, that is, those who are engaged in total theft of electricity,— said Igor Bederov.
According to him, Dagestan still has a minimum rate of gray cryptomineers, that is, those who pay at discounted rates: connections bypassing meters prevail. In the first half of the year, large-scale cases of theft of electricity were recorded in Ingushetia and Karachay-Cherkessia, they occupy the second and third places in terms of identified illegal immigrants, he added.
Andrey Ryumin, the head of Rosseti, told SPIEF 2025 that Dagestan ranks first in Russia in terms of the number of illegal miners stealing electricity. He noted that the North Caucasus as a whole has the highest concentration of black miners who ignore payment for electricity consumed.
— Their number has increased many times in 2025 due to the lack of control over energy consumption and the ability to install mining farms in villages. But there is also a disadvantage, such miners, as a rule, have to buy powerful video cards due to the shortage of professional solutions such as ASICs (special-purpose integrated circuits)," a cryptospecialist from Dagestan, who wished to remain anonymous, told Izvestia.
In crypto mining, attackers often use special programs that steal the computing power of infected devices, both computers and smartphones, said Alexey Gorelkin, CEO of Phishman. Malware can enter devices through browser extensions, hacked programs from file sharing sites, and even disguise itself as useful applications.
Oleg Skulkin, head of threat analysis at BI.ZONE, added that cryptojacking, a method where attackers use other people's devices for mining, is especially dangerous. According to him, there are two main ways of implementation: the first is hacking corporate or state systems through vulnerabilities and introducing mining programs there (this also threatens ordinary users). In the second case, the attackers send phishing emails with suspicious attachments. For example, in June, BI.ZONE recorded a campaign where the mining program was disguised as a Word document with the name "Table of readings 25 год.docx.exe ".
Andrey Ivanov, a cybersecurity expert from Kaspersky Lab, explained how cryptojacking is dangerous for users: buyers of high-performance video cards lose money due to excessive consumption of electricity, traffic and rapid wear of equipment. Experienced users may notice miners by the unusually large network traffic or by the slow operation of the computer. But hidden miners are able to "pretend": for example, they stop work when the user checks the list of running programs. Therefore, it is difficult to cope with them without special means.
Crypto miners prefer to work non-stop, without being tied to the seasons. This leads to systemic abuses and destabilization of regional power grids, said Lyudmila Bogatyreva, head of the Polylog agency's IT department. In her opinion, there is a trend towards black mining in the country, and if it continues, regions with energy overload will begin to completely ban such activities and tighten responsibility for the illegal use of electricity. This is not difficult to do, because mining on the current scale is not such a significant economic factor for Russia to justify the risks.
Demand for graphics cards
According to the press service of "M.Video–Eldorado", in the first half of 2025, demand for powerful graphics cards increased by 233% (in money and units) due to interest in games and AI tasks. IT expert Daniil Arzhakov added that the strengthening of the ruble has made video cards more affordable (due to performance and energy efficiency), attracting gamers and miners.
An increase in demand signals illegal mining, which can cause energy crises and the industry's transition to a gray zone, said Vadim Kovalenko, a lecturer at the Department of Esports at Synergy University. According to him, in Russia, without additional regulatory measures, the same scenarios as in Iran and Kazakhstan may be repeated. Black mining in the Islamic Republic has de-energized cities, and authorities have repeatedly taken measures to limit illegal mining of cryptocurrencies. In Kazakhstan, the entire energy system was under threat due to black miners, as a result of which the authorities increased taxes for cryptocurrency miners, the expert noted.
"Without rules — fixed tariffs, control by the authorities and the fight against theft — there will be power outages and an increase in criminal mining," he said.
Users who purchase high-performance graphics cards for mining should remember that there is a mining law in Russia. It sets an energy consumption limit of 6,000 kWh per month for individuals engaged in mining cryptocurrencies.
— If this limit is exceeded, it is necessary to register in a special register of miners, which is under the jurisdiction of the Federal Tax Service. The "evaders" will soon face heavy fines and confiscation of illegally mined cryptocurrencies, and a corresponding bill is already under development. Control and supervisory authorities have the necessary tools to effectively identify those involved in illegal mining," said Anton Gorelkin, first deputy chairman of the State Duma Committee on Information Policy.
Effective regulation requires transparent incentives: legal mechanisms for the exchange of crypto assets must be worked out and fair taxes introduced, summed up Artem Shchepinov, Intelion's GR Director.
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