The cryptocurrency mining might have gotten out of control in Russia recently after a series of power outages are being blamed on miners.

Russian power provider Rosseti Siberia claimed that illegal crypto mining soared at the end of last year. Around the same time, power failures and mass outages occurred across the Siberian province of Russia. Rossetti Siberia places the blame squarely on the crypto miners and accuses them of causing more than $675,000 in damage by their actions.

These power outages occurred during severe Russian cold snaps, where the temperatures have reached as low as minus 56 Celsius in some Siberian regions. Because this is such a bad time for anyone in the province to be without power, the blame has to be placed somewhere.

Power failures were recently reported throughout December, as temperatures began to drop. Of course, there is more demand for electricity during these times, and more of a burden is placed on the power supply in Russia’s notoriously bitter winters.

Crackdown on Crypto Mining

The Russian government is not taking illegal crypto mining lightly. They have been cracking down on miners through their Rosseti Siberia arm. Over the last year, 17 illegal mining farms were shut down. There is some dispute over whether these farms were actually illegal or if the government is padding its numbers. Reports say these crypto mining farms are located in the Khakassia, Omsk, and Krasnoyarsk regions. All of these areas are popular among crypto miners, partly because legitimate crypto farming locations are running in the same regions.

What does the future hold for crypto mining in Russia? Industrial mining has taken off in the last decade thanks to cheap power rates and the colder than usual temperatures. Those frigid periods are excellent for crypto mining, because they help keep the computers from overheating.

Say some industry insiders, the mining market in Russia has grown to be the second largest in the world, falling only behind the United States. It is possible that Russia’s mining profits could surpass those of the United States in the near future. Even if the Russian government is not happy about how cryptocurrency is being mined within its borders, it is likely that that the country will continue to be a hotbed of crypto mining activity. The environment is simply too tantalizing for business-minded crypto miners to pass up.

There is a danger that continued illegal mining will result in even more power outages, though. If that happens, the government could crack down harder on those operations.