Russia Cracks Down on Illegal Miners, India Pushes CBDCs

Russia’s Ministry of Justice has proposed new fines for unregistered cryptocurrency miners. This comes after the finance minister raised concerns about the rise in unauthorized mining activities.

A draft bill proposed by the ministry would impose a fine of 1.5 million rubles (about $19,000) and up to two years in a labor colony. Illegal mining involving “outsized profits” could see a maximum of five years in prison, 480 hours of forced labor and a fine of up to 2.5 million rubles.

Unregistered miners are a growing problem in Russia, where only 30% have registered their operations as of June 19, according to Deputy Minister of Finance Ivan Chebeskov.

According to Minister of Finance Anton Siluanov, there were over 1,300 registered crypto miners in Russia at the end of October 2025.

India’s central bank wants to prioritize CBDCs

India’s central bank, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), urged other countries to focus on developing central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). In a recent financial stability report, the RBI argued for preserving the “singleness of money and the integrity of the financial system.”

This contrasts with the monetary vision of stablecoin issuers, who would see multiple versions of fiat-backed digital assets competing with one another. In this vein, the RBI argued that stablecoins present new monetary risks, particularly when the market is under stress.

It said that governments must “carefully assess the attendant risks and determine policy responses appropriate to its financial system.”

RBI claimed that CBDCs offer the same benefits of stablecoins, namely programmability and efficient and near-instant settlement times, but offer the safety of central bank backing.

US Congress to reportedly move on crypto bill

Pro-crypto lawmakers within the US Congress made a concerted effort to pass a crypto market structure bill but ended 2025 without passing the Responsible Financial Innovation Act into law.

The Senate Banking Committee is reportedly moving to mark up the bill during the second week of January, a crucial step ahead of moving the bill to the floor for a vote.

Cody Carbone, CEO of digital asset advocacy organization The Digital Chamber, previously told Cointelegraph, “The second week of January will have at least one markup on pending market structure legislation in the Senate.”

Proponents were concerned that the crypto industry’s bill would be overshadowed by other issues in 2026 as lawmakers prepared to defend their position in the midterm elections. Progress was slowed by the historically long government shutdown and concerns over how to regulate decentralized finance.

Ugandan politician wants constituents to use Bitchat

Bobi Wine, president of the National Unity Platform — Uganda’s political opposition party — has advocated for residents to download and use Bitchat, an encrypted messaging app developed by X (formerly Twitter) co-founder Jack Dorsey.

Wine claims that the ruling party, the National Resistance Movement, will attempt to cut off communications in the lead-up to the country’s presidential elections in 2026. Using the decentralized messaging service Bitchat will “enable you to communicate to thousands of people […] send pictures of DR Forms and share any other critical information to specific or other users.”

During the 2016 and 2021 elections, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni blocked social media and internet access across the country, claiming that the measures were necessary for security and safety. The government has gone so far as to ban the import of Starlink mobile internet equipment.

Bitchat uses Bluetooth mesh networks to offer an encrypted communication service that doesn’t rely on an internet connection.

South Korea pumps the brakes on stablecoin bill

The South Korean government has reportedly halted progress on a stablecoin bill over differences on how such assets should be regulated.

The pending Digital Asset Basic Act would set out clear rules for the issuance of won-backed stablecoins. Progress on the act has reportedly stalled amid disagreements between the nation’s finance watchdog and the central bank. One point of contention was whether a body of organizations should oversee stablecoin issuers before they obtain official approvals.

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung promised to address stablecoins before he was sworn into office in June 2025. Ruling party lawmakers are reportedly preparing to unveil their own proposals due to the delayed government bill.

China lets banks pay interest on digital yuan deposits

The People’s Bank of China, the country’s central bank, now allows commercial banks to pay interest on digital yuan wallet balances.

As of Jan. 1, commercial banks can treat e-CNY, the nation’s CBDC, as part of their asset-liability operations, expanding the role of the digital yuan beyond its initial position as a simple cash substitute. Lu Lei, a deputy governor of the People’s Bank of China, said, “The digital RMB will move from the digital cash era to the digital deposit currency […] era.”

Real-world examples of CBDCs are limited, but China has been actively developing the digital yuan over the last several years. The new “action plan” for CBDCs seeks to further expand the use of the digital currency.

In September, the central bank set up an operations center in Shanghai to build onchain settlement tools and cross-chain transfers for the digital yuan.

Crypto trading and mining are now legal in Turkmenistan

A law signed by Turkmenistan’s president, Serdar Berdimuhamedow, took effect on Jan. 1, allowing crypto trading and mining operations in the country.

The Central Asian nation is following the lead of its neighbor Kazakhstan, which has developed crypto mining operations. In both countries, a massive energy surplus in the form of natural gas-fired electricity generation, as well as relatively low temperatures in the winter months, make the jurisdictions attractive for Bitcoin (BTC) mining.

Non-Turkmenistan companies will be allowed to set up operations in the country, provided they have undergone the proper registration requirements. Exchanges will have to abide by local Know Your Customer and Anti-Money Laundering laws.

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