- Cryptocurrency mining has caused electricity shortages in Kazakhstan.
- Against the background of several cases of shutdowns of power plants that cannot cope with the increased level of consumption, the country will begin to limit the electricity supplied to miners.
- 50 mining companies, officially registered in Kazakhstan, have already warned that they will begin to “dosed” receive electricity , and in case of network failures, they will be turned off first .
Cryptocurrency mining has caused electricity shortages in Kazakhstan. Against the background of several cases of shutdowns of power plants that cannot cope with the increased level of consumption, the country will begin to limit the electricity supplied to miners.
50 mining companies, officially registered in Kazakhstan, have already warned that they will begin to “dosed” receive electricity , and in case of network failures, they will be turned off first . This, as reported by the Financial Times , was announced by the single operator for the management of power grids in Kazakhstan, KEGOC.
Why these measures are a need in Kazakhstan
The reason for such measures was temporary power outages that have been observed in six regions of the country since the beginning of October against the backdrop of a sharp jump in electricity consumption . Over the past year, this indicator has grown by 8% in comparison with the average annual 1-2%.
Kazakh officials have already accused in this “gray” and unregistered miners kriptofermy . Local deputy Dyusenbai Turganov called on the authorities to develop new regulatory measures and suppress their illegal activities.
China also had a hand in this picture – the restrictions imposed on cryptocurrencies in 2021 led to the relocation of mining companies to Kazakhstan. This was facilitated by the territorial proximity to the PRC and the cheapness of electricity in this country – for non-residential consumers it costs 20 tenge / kWh (1.24 UAH).
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In this regard, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev called Kazakhstan “the number two country in the world for the extraction of cryptocurrencies .” At the same time, according to him, they do not see the “financial return” from mining in Nur-Sultan.
Against this background, the authorities of Kazakhstan obliged legal miners from January 2022 to pay a compensation fee of 1 tenge for each consumed kilowatt hour . This will not leave miners with a choice – either to reduce the scale of cryptocurrency production, or to transport equipment to other countries again.
