Legal players in Kazakhstan’s mining market have removed from the country about 30% of the equipment placed there. ForkLog quoted Alan Dordzhiev, head of the National Association of Blockchain and Data-Center Industry of Kazakhstan.
According to him, the relocation of miners was influenced by power-supply problems and forthcoming amendments to legislation to raise taxes.
As revealed in documents prepared by Kazakhstan’s Majilis (in ForkLog’s possession), deputies propose the following taxation for miners:
- 10 tenge per 1 kWh when using energy resources sourced from Kazakhstan;
- 3 tenge per 1 kWh for the use of power plants based on renewable energy sources (excluding hydroelectric) and natural gas;
- 5 tenge per 1 kWh when using imported electricity.
Dordzhiev noted that partly due to ambiguous government decisions, Kazakhstan is becoming an unattractive jurisdiction for the mining business. He also forecasts that the country will lose its leading positions in terms of the amount of computing power in the Bitcoin network.
Earlier, due to energy shortages, authorities ordered to limit miners. Since the end of January they have completely stopped supplying electricity.
Later, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev ordered raising the tax on cryptocurrency mining and to identify illegal miners. Authorities have already begun shutting down such mining farms.
Miners are not only relocating but also reconsidering their plans to operate in Kazakhstan. BIT Mining Limited renounced plans to build a data centre for cryptocurrency mining in the country.
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