Tajikistan Loses Over $3 Million to Illegal Cryptocurrency Mining

In the first half of 2025, losses from illegal cryptocurrency mining in Tajikistan exceeded $3.5 million. This was reported by the Attorney General, Habibullo Vohidzoda, according to local media. 

“There are individuals who import equipment for mining firms from abroad and illegally mine cryptocurrency,” he noted.

While mining is not officially banned in Tajikistan, authorities are actively combating illegal network connections. Since January, law enforcement has initiated 190 criminal cases related to electricity theft. A total of 3,988 individuals have faced administrative and disciplinary actions. Approximately $4.1 million has been reimbursed to the budget. 

Currently, the debt owed by the population and local enterprises for electricity exceeds $493 million. 

Issues in Kazakhstan 

Kazakhstan has also experienced a surge in illegal cryptocurrency mining. On August 11, the Financial Monitoring Agency and the National Security Committee uncovered a scheme where energy company employees supplied miners with 50 MWh of electricity over two years, bypassing the law—a volume sufficient for a city of 70,000 residents.

The stolen electricity was valued at $16.5 million. During the investigation, it was revealed that the scheme’s organizer purchased two apartments and four cars with the proceeds, which are now subject to confiscation. 

In Kazakhstan, mining is not prohibited but is regulated. Farms can only purchase electricity through the Ministry of Energy and in volumes not exceeding 1 MWh, aimed at reducing the load on the power system.

Earlier, the First Vice Minister of Digital Development, Innovation, and Aerospace Industry, Kanysh Tuleushin, proposed promoting mining in the country. According to Tuleushin, cryptocurrency miners could help modernize Kazakhstan’s energy system.

Why Central Asia Attracts Grey Miners 

The rise in illegal mining in the region is linked to China’s ban on cryptocurrency mining. Miners have since moved to neighboring countries with cheap electricity and weak state oversight. 

“Central Asia offers relatively cheap energy, minimal regulatory oversight, and often blurred legal frameworks for mining. These conditions allow illegal operators to conduct large-scale activities while avoiding formal control,” noted Ari Redbord, Head of Global Policy at TRM Labs, in a comment to Decrypt. 

He noted that the region is of interest not only to Chinese miners but also to Russian companies using crypto infrastructure to circumvent sanctions. The expert believes this could also contribute to the growth of illegal mining in the region. 

“Given the high interconnectedness of the region’s financial and crypto infrastructure, illegal mining in Kazakhstan or Tajikistan could engage the same cross-border networks, counterparties, and liquidation channels used for sanctions evasion,” he explained. 

Earlier, on August 6, energy workers discovered illegal cryptocurrency miners at a livestock farm in the Ingush village of Surkhakhi. The volume of stolen electricity exceeded 8 million kWh, comparable to the consumption of the Ingush Republican Clinical Hospital over five years.