Kazakhstan Energy Crisis Due To Bitcoin Mining, 55 Companies Stop Mining Activities Voluntarily

Kazakhstan shuts down illegal bitcoin mining. (Photo; Brian Wangenheim-Unsplash)

JAKARTA – Kazakhstan is experiencing a shortage of energy supply. The resource crisis forced the government to shut down Bitcoin mining operations. In an announcement on March 15, the government threatened illegal miners who came to Kazakhstan.

“The Head of State, the Financial Monitoring Agency, together with government agencies, carry out a comprehensive inspection of mining farming activities.”

With pressure from the government, around 55 crypto mining companies have voluntarily stopped their operations. On the other hand, 51 illegal crypto miners must be closed by the authorities. Not only stop mining activities, but the miners also dismantle various mining equipment.

Illegal miners are known to smuggle mining equipment from China, Singapore, South Korea, Georgia, and Turkey. The proliferation of illegal miners has forced the government to intervene.

Kazakhstan's Financial Monitoring Agency has recorded about 25 criminal cases related to mining, 67,000 equipment was seized worth 100 billion tenge or about 194 million US dollars (IDR 2.7 trillion).

When the illegal miners were operating, the government noted a reduction in daily electricity consumption of 600 megawatts/hour in Kazakhstan. Authorities appeal to the public to report illegal crypto mining.

Authorities assess cryptocurrencies as being used to fund illegal activities such as financing terrorism, buying weapons and drugs. Regarding these problems, the government is trying to solve the problem of illegal mining which causes an energy crisis.

However, some of the miners are reported to have left Kazakhstan. The energy crisis is also pushing legal miners out of the country.