Kazakhstan shuts down 13 illegal crypto mining operations

Kazakhstan Ministry of Energy officials announced Monday that they have shut down 13 unlicensed crypto mining operations in the country.

Kazakhstan became one of the most popular destinations for cryptocurrency miners after China banned mining operations within its borders. Several Chinese crypto miners shifted their facilities in the central Asian country, primarily due to low energy costs and mining-friendly regulations.

However, the benefits were short-lived after the country began to deal with political unrest and power shortages. High energy consumption resulted in Kazakh energy officials sometimes pulling the plug for crypto miners. In addition, the Ministry recently proposed a law that would limit the energy consumption of new miners to 1 MW per mine.

Now, in a fresh crackdown, the officials have shut down 13 unlawful crypto miners that remain unlicensed with the country’s regulator. The miners were using a total power consumption of 202 megawatts (MW), per the official statement released Monday.

Several illegal facilities were found in regions Karaganda, Pavlodar, Turkestan, Akmola, and Kostanai, and in cities Nur-Sultan, Almaty, and Shymkent. The official statement noted:

“[Efforts] to identify and disconnect mining farms from the electrical grid will continue, and the relevant government bodies are also conducting investigations into the data-mining farms that have been detected.”

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