Due To Electric Energy Crisis, Kazakhstan Government Raids Illegal Bitcoin Mining Site

Police shut down Bitcoin mining site in Kazakhsan. (Pixabay)

JAKARTA – The government of Kazakhstan has tightened crypto mining activities and is hunting down illegal Bitcoin miners in the country. The decision was implemented after the country's electricity supply was reduced, the country which became a "crypto mining paradise" was recorded several times experiencing power outages as a result of mining activities.

In recent months, the government managed to shut down more than 100 crypto mining companies including those already registered. However, the miners who received permits from the government reportedly decided to close their mining activities voluntarily because Kazakhstan was experiencing an energy crisis.

Recently, the Kazakh authorities reportedly carried out a raid on a cryptocurrency mining facility. The mine site is in a room at the Kundyzdy railway station, local media 24 Khabar reported.

From these raids, officers managed to find 130 crypto-mining units and hard drives, as well as various computer parts. The Kazakh Police Department has confiscated the mining equipment.

Previously, Kazakhstan had become a “new paradise” for Bitcoin miners migrating from China. Apart from various government-registered crypto mining companies, illegal miners also flock to the country. This causes the consumption of electrical energy to soar, resulting in blackouts during winter.

Bitcoin.com News reported in February that President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev ordered the Financial Monitoring Agency to identify all mining entities with the help of other relevant government bodies. The supervisor has done a lot of inspections, tax verification, customs, and technical documentation.

This was compounded by the outbreak of political turmoil in the country last January. Given these conditions, the miners decided to leave Kazakhstan, moving to the United States.