Breaking: Kazakhstan Shuts 106 Crypto Mining Farms; Seizes $193M Worth Equipment

Kazakhstan government has hammered 106 crypto mining farms for illegally carrying out crypto mining activities. The administration has discovered some ex-officials and richest businessmen in Kazakhstan were associated with it. The statement issued by the government mentions that 67 thousand pieces of equipment worth about 100 billion tenges (approx $193M) were also seized.

Kazakh govt. makes it tough for illegal miners

Cryptocurrency adoption and illegal activities around it, both are on a surge. In a move to eliminate the Illegal crypto mining activities, the Kazakh government has voluntarily closed 55 mining farms, while 51 were forced to shut down.

The statement issued by the government mentions that these mining firms were affiliated with well-known entrepreneurs and political figures. The list includes Bolat Nazarbayev, Alexander Klebanov in the Pavlodar region, and former head of the Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs Tlegen Matkenov. The statement also mentions the name of Kazakhstan’s richest businessmen according to Forbes, Kairat Itemgenov (17th place in 2021).

$193 M worth of mining equipments seized

The inspection done by the authorities, suggests that mining equipment was imported from China, South Korea, Singapore, Turkey, and Georgia. Some of the imported equipments activities were even smuggled from above mentioned countries.

The Financial Monitoring Agency has registered 25 criminal cases and has managed to seize over 67 thousand pieces of equipment worth about 100 billion tenges (approx $193M). However, more than one thousand units of mining equipment worth 2.8 billion tenges (Approx $5,4 million) were imported alone from China.

The country has been experiencing an energy shortage since last year. As per the statement, daily electricity consumption in the country decreased by 600 megawatts/hour.

According to reports, Kazakhstan accounts for 18% of the hash rate of the entire Bitcoin network. Meanwhile, the country calls for sufficient regulation over mining and circulation of digital assets as it can serve as a tool for the financing of terrorism and other illegal activities.