Crypto Miners Don't Want To Be Scapegoat For The Electricity Crisis In Kazakhstan, Here's The Reason!

Kazakh crypto miners don't want to be the scapegoat for the electricity crisis. (photo; unsplash)

JAKARTA – Kazakhstan, the second-largest Bitcoin mining country in the world, has closed its crypto mines until the end of January 2022.

The country's electricity provider, KEGOC, made the decision to cut supplies to miners after millions of people were affected by power cuts in three Central Asian countries last week.

But crypto miners have accused KEGOC of blaming them for power supply issues, and estimate the loss from inactivity is around $1 million per day.

Sergey Putra, Vice President of the Blockchain Industry Association and Data Center of the Republic of Kazakhstan (NABDC) told state-run news agency Khabar that 'Miners don't provide a fantastic load.

“They don't double or triple their electricity consumption. This is only 7% of the entire Kazakh market, for all miners. The equipment stands up, and continues to work. It does not happen that this equipment works at this hour and consumes three kW, the next two hours and then consumes 10 kW for two minutes,” Putra who was also quoted by Dailymail.

"No, always have consistent power consumption," added Putra.

Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan, three countries that experienced blackouts and lost heating supplies, had electrical systems linked together by a Soviet-era power grid.

The power outage caused chaos throughout the area for several hours. Like subways stuck in tunnels and skiers in lifts. Even the airport was forced to close, district heating and tap water pumps went out and traffic lights went out.

When the power is mostly back to normal, the technical cause of this problem is not yet known. Meanwhile, Kazakh crypto miners have accused KEGOC of using them as scapegoats for this problem.

Alan Dorjiyev, president of NABDC, told the news website that KEGOC had cut off the miners' power supply since January 17.

“Whenever there is a problem in the country's power grid, KEGOC points their finger at the miners. Now they have an alibi," said Dorjiyev.

Earlier this month, Bitcoin price slumped to lows not seen since September amid an internet blackout in crisis-hit Kazakhstan.

Jaran Mellerud, an analyst at cryptocurrency insight firm Arcane Research, told Wired that he estimates that the internet shutdown amid political unrest earlier this month may have cost Kazakh miners an estimated $20 million or $4.8 million for every 24 hours without internet.

Bitcoin, the world's most widely used cryptocurrency, lost as much as eight percent of its value and fell to under 41,000 US dollars, as investors dumped their crypto coins, driven in part by ongoing events in the Central Asian country.