Putin Backs Crypto Mining Despite Bank of Russia’s Hard Line (2)

President Vladimir Putin backs a Russian government proposal to tax and regulate mining of cryptocurrencies, rejecting the central bank’s proposal to ban it completely, according to three people familiar with the matter.

Putin supports the proposal, which would allow mining to continue, as Russia has many regions with a surplus of electricity, including Irkutsk, Krasnoyarsk and Karelia, the people said, asking not to be identified because the information is not public.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov declined to say what Putin’s stance was and said that the president ordered the government and central bank to work out their differences.

The ...