Kazakhstan president Kassym-Jomart Tokayev announced that he had signed legislation to reduce energy consumption by domestic crypto miners. This announcement was published on his website.
As cryptocurrency miners, both legal and illegal, have recently flocked to Central Asian territories in their thousands, the local infrastructure is under increasing pressure. As a result of this unsustainable influx and the associated demand for electricity, the nation has been forced to introduce stricter regulations regarding mining operations. Nevertheless, it remains committed to developing its larger digital ecosystem further.
The recently-passed law now limits how much electricity miners can draw from the national grid only when energy is abundant. The surplus will be allocated amongst certified operators who can take part in bidding for this power supply. However, those mining operations that utilize renewable sources or their independent generators not connected to the electrical grid are exempted from the legislation.
The newly-enacted legislation will ensure that miners acquire authorization from the relevant authorities before commencing operations. Along with some adjustments to the tax system for the sector, it also regulates mining pools so only those listed by the government can be used and orders miners to sell half of their cryptocurrency output to crypto exchanges located in Kazakhstan’s Astana International Finance Center (AIFC) by 2024, increasing this amount up to 75% a year later. Additionally, Kazakhstan is taking steps toward regulating digital asset exchanges following the FTX incident.
