The Kazakh authorities have taken measures to minimize electricity usage from illegal crypto mining operations.
With Bitcoin mining being approved by several countries in the CIS region, Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Energy is looking to issue restrictions on mining operations due to concerns for electricity shortage.
According to the post by the Government of Kazakhstan, the authorities have already closed down 13 mining farms that were pulling over 200 megawatts. The largest volumes of mining activity were recorded in Karagandy, a city in central Kazakhstan, draining 31,3 megawatts of electricity.
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The authorities will continue to investigate further for more illegal BTC mining operations. Even though the President of Kazakhstan does not see Bitcoin mining as a threat, earlier in February, he launched an investigation into crypto mining, requiring miners to become licensed and pay additional taxes for mining operations.
With China putting a blanket ban on all cryptocurrency mining operations, Kazakhstan became a safe haven for miners, and one of the leading countries in Bitcoin mining by hash rate. However, that may change due to electricity concerns, and pressure from the government.
Kazakhstan isn’t the first country to get shackled for crypto mining due to the volumes of electricity used by miners. Earlier in January, the Kosovo police made several arrests, seizing 311 Antminer rigs.
Meanwhile, in early February, the Irkutsk Oblast had been receiving truckloads of mining equipment from China practically for free. Therefore, miners took advantage of the situation, because of which the isolated region in Siberia faced multiple power outages.
