Kazakhstan, once the world’s second-largest safe haven for cryptocurrency miners, has undergone swift regulatory changes since the beginning of this year. The majority of these modifications are primarily limited in nature, which has lowered its crypto mining revenues in 2022. On Monday, the country’s state revenue committee released a report revealing the total energy costs paid by local crypto miners in the first quarter of this year.
The government has begun to impose a fee of one Tenge per kilowatt-hour on registered crypto miners. According to the committee’s report, the government has contributed 652 million Tenge ($1.5 million) in energy costs to the crypto mining budget for Q1 2022.
The country’s present mining conditions are poor. Kazakhstan was once one of the most vocal supporters of cryptocurrency miners. In 2020, the president of an energy-rich country addressed the nation. In his presentation, he urged residents to recruit $1.2 billion in crypto infrastructure by 2025.
The initial lack of regulation and inexpensive power attracted many miners, who subsequently opted to set up business in Kazakhstan, making it one of the largest nations in terms of hash rate distribution.
This surge was also influenced by China’s cryptocurrency prohibition, which drove many Chinese miners to seek refuge in nations such as Kazakhstan and the United States.
However, energy issues quickly gained centre stage, pushing the nation to implement stringent regulatory measures.
