Kazakhstan Tightens Noose on Crypto Miners With Power Consumption Report Requirements

The order has been published by Bagdat Mussin, Minister of Digital development, Innovations and Aerospace Industry of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

By Radhika Parashar | Updated: 5 May 2022 14:36 IST

Kazakhstan Tightens Noose on Crypto Miners With Power Consumption Report Requirements

Photo Credit: Pixabay/ Victorumeche

Crypto miners will have to give “technical specifications” for power needs

Highlights

Order published by Bagdat Mussin, Minister of Digital Development
Malik Olzhabekov in-charge of enforcing this rule
Crypto miners continue to be active in Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan, that has been impacted with power shortages due to crypto mining, is bringing in new measures to deal with the issue. The government of Kazakhstan has mandated crypto miners to submit detailed reports justifying their power consumption requirements. Any mining business that wishes to begin operations in the Asian nation will have to hand-in this report thirty days before starting the work. The order has been published by Bagdat Mussin, Minister of Digital Development, Innovations and Aerospace Industry of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

The Kazakhstan government has directed all crypto miners to provide “technical specifications” for their power needs before beginning operations. This includes details on type of mining equipment used, the customs cargo declarations for that equipment, and any investments planned within the year, an official statement outlined.

The rule is aimed at keeping the nation's electricity supply available for common citizens and other industries. Since crypto mining is done on advanced computers, it gobbles up loads of electricity, disrupting supply in neighbouring areas.

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Malik Olzhabekov, the vice minister of Kazakhstan's digital development ministry has been assigned control of ensuring that this rule is obeyed by crypto miners.

Plagued by power outages, Kazakhstan has been strengthening its grip around crypto mining businesses.

In February this year, Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev instructed authorities to increase the tax on electricity for crypto-mining outfits.

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Crypto miners will also have to pay import charges for their equipment.

Last year, Kazakhstan became the world's second-largest centre for Bitcoin mining after the United States, according to the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance, after major hub China clamped down on cryptocurrency mining activity last September.

All crypto mining farms had been asked to disclose themselves along with their records and other paperworks in Kazakhstan by March this year.

The Ministry of Energy of the Republic of Kazakhstan along with other law enforcement authorities are identifying, raiding, and busting illegal mining farms where cryptocurrencies are being generated illegally.

In March, the Financial Monitoring Agency of Kazakhstan registered 25 criminal cases and confiscated more than 67,000 pieces of crypto mining equipment worth about KZT 100 billion (roughly Rs. 1,478 crore) from illegal establishments.

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Further reading: Kazakhstan, Cryptocurrency, Crypto Mining, Power

Radhika Parashar

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Radhika Parashar is a senior correspondent for Gadgets 360. She has been reporting on tech and telecom for the last three years now and will be focussing on writing about all things crypto. Besides this, she is a major sitcom nerd and often replies in Chandler Bing and Michael Scott references. For tips or queries you could reach out to her at RadhikaP@ndtv.com. More