Kyrgyzstan Will Build Crypto Mining Facilities At Hydroelectric Power Plants

JAKARTA - The President of Kyrgyzstan, Sadyr Japarov, has given approval to build a digital asset mining facility with a capacity of up to 30 MW at the Kambar-Ata Hydroelectric Power Plant (HPP) site in the country. In an interview with local media, the President stated that the construction of this facility will be funded by an investor with funds of 20 million US dollars (equivalent to Rp301 billion).

The entire coin mining process will be automated and supervised by experienced electrical engineers. President Japarov emphasized that HPP Kambar-Ata has been operating since 2010 and is capable of producing 120 MW of electricity. However, currently, only 90 MW can be used by consumers due to the limited capacity of the power grid.

This situation caused this country to suffer a loss of 6.816 billion kWh of electricity over the past 13 years, worth around 3.275 billion Kyrgyzstan som (more than 37 million US dollars (Rp557 billion). However, President Japarov believes that by starting a crypto mining operation, the state will be able to overcome this loss.

The increasing trend of crypto mining has attracted many mining companies into the region after China's crackdown on the industry two years ago. Neighboring Kazakhstan is also facing similar problems, where the entry of miners has been considered to be the cause of an increase in the electricity deficit and resulting in legislation limiting the electricity consumption of miners taking effect this year.

Previously, Kyrgyzstan had closed illegal crypto mining facilities and raised electricity rates for miners by the end of 2021. By 2022, special laws were enacted to provide legal definitions for virtual assets, including cryptocurrencies. The law also prohibits payments using cryptocurrencies and applies taxation for investment revenues and mining returns. In addition, the law also requires mining businesses to register officially.

With these steps, Kyrgyzstan seeks to regulate the crypto mining industry and optimize the potential for its hydroelectric power generation. This decision will certainly affect the development of the crypto industry in Central Asia and be in the spotlight of market players around the world.