Russian crypto bans: What happened and how it shaped global crypto flows
When Russia cracked down on crypto payments, the use of digital currencies for buying goods and services, it wasn’t about stopping crypto—it was about controlling how money moved. The government didn’t ban owning Bitcoin or mining it. Instead, it made it illegal to use crypto as payment for everyday things like groceries, rent, or fuel. This forced millions of Russians to find workarounds, and in the process, it reshaped global crypto flows. The move was less about fear of blockchain and more about keeping control over the ruble and avoiding Western financial pressure.
Meanwhile, crypto mining Russia, the process of validating Bitcoin transactions using powerful computers kept going strong. Russia had cheap electricity, especially in Siberia and the Far East, and miners didn’t care if they couldn’t spend their coins locally—they could sell them abroad. By 2025, Russia was still among the top five countries for Bitcoin’s hash rate, even after the payment ban. That’s because mining doesn’t need banks. It just needs power and internet. The government didn’t shut it down because it brought in hard currency from overseas buyers. This created a strange split: you couldn’t buy coffee with Bitcoin, but you could mine it and cash out on a foreign exchange.
The crypto sanctions Russia, restrictions imposed by the U.S. and EU targeting Russian financial activity made things even more complicated. After 2022, Western exchanges like Coinbase and Binance restricted Russian users. That pushed many into peer-to-peer markets, where traders used cash, gift cards, or Telegram groups to swap crypto. Some turned to platforms based in Turkey, the UAE, or even Venezuela—places that didn’t ask too many questions. This underground flow didn’t die. It just got quieter, more decentralized, and harder to track.
What’s clear now is that Russia didn’t kill crypto—it redirected it. Miners moved hardware to Kazakhstan and Iran when local power costs rose. Traders used VPNs and local P2P hubs to bypass restrictions. And the global hash rate? It didn’t drop—it redistributed. The Russian crypto bans didn’t stop Bitcoin. They just made it more resilient, more hidden, and more global. Below, you’ll find real cases of how people adapted, which exchanges stayed open, and what happened to mining rigs when the rules changed. These aren’t theories. These are stories from the ground.