Kazakhstan shuts down 13 crypto mining firms for illegal operations

Kazakhstan continues with its fight against illegal cryptocurrency mining firms. 13 crypto mining firms in the country have been shut down for failing to comply with the local regulations.

The Ministry of Energy in Kazakhstan is behind the shutdown of these illegal mining operations. The firms were using a total energy capacity of more than 200 megawatts.

Kazakhstan shuts down illegal miners

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Kazakhstan was rocked by violent protests earlier this year. The protests were triggered by the rising energy prices. Following this unrest, the Kazakh government committed to cracking down on illegal Bitcoin miners. The rising crypto mining activities in the country were attributed to the energy crisis.

Kazakh’s minister, Bagdat Musin, commented on the illegal mining operations saying, “Gray miners are doing a lot of harm to our power grid. The energy costs of illegal mining are estimated to exceed 1 gigawatt.

The 13 mining facilities that have been shut down are based in Akmola, Karaganda, Kostanai, Pavlodar and Turkestan. The authorities have threatened that more illegal mining firms would be shut down.

Kazakhstan’s president Tokayev has said that “white miners” should not be concerned with the crackdown.

The government is not opposed to white miners, but people who want to operate in this sector must have a license, get their electricity at the appropriate tariffs, declare their income and pay taxes, and get involved in green projects.

Currently, Kazakhstan is the second-largest Bitcoin miner accounting for 18.1% of the Bitcoin network hash rate.

Crypto mining operations globally

After China banned crypto mining activities, miners were forced to move to overseas locations, and the United States stood as the prime candidate. The US is currently the largest Bitcoin mining location accounting for 35.1% of the global hash rate.

The abundance of renewable energy sources in the US is attracting miners. However, the regulatory framework is still uncertain, and in states such as New York, miners are still in an uncertain state.

The high energy needed for Bitcoin mining is among the factors triggering a ban. In 2022, Kosovo banned all mining operations during the winter season.