Kazakhstan Stabilizes, State Claims as Crypto Miners Look to Country’s Future – Mining Bitcoin News

The situation in Kazakhstan, which was hit by anti-government protests in the first week of the year, is returning to normal, central authorities claim. The country's massive crypto mining industry, which faced an internet blackout in addition to a lack of electricity during the civil unrest, is now hoping that the country will still remain an attractive location for miners.

President Tokayev has the nation under control

After days of unrest, the embattled government of Kazakhstan's President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev says the country has now stabilized. Law enforcement agencies have retaken all administrative buildings attacked by protesters, municipal facilities are being restored, officials told the head of state at a meeting on Sunday, according to a released statement.

The unrest in Kazakhstan began on January 2 with demonstrations in the western province of Mangistau against the massive rise in prices for natural gas and other fuels political protests engulf the Central Asian republic. An unconfirmed number of people have died in the clashes and 5,800 people, including foreigners, have been arrested, official sources said.

Tokayev is said to have stressed that security forces will take all necessary measures to fully restore public law and order in the country, Russian news agency Interfax reported. The President has ordered the creation of a special government commission to deal with the consequences of the unrest in the affected regions.

Despite challenges, crypto miners see the future in Kazakhstan

With its low, limited electricity tariffs and generally positive attitude towards the crypto industry, Kazakhstan attracted numerous mining companies amid massive government exodus Crackdown on the sector in China since May 2021. However, the influx of miners, which increased the country's share of the global Bitcoin hashrate by over 18%, was accused for a growing electricity deficit that exceeded 7% in the first three quarters of last year.

According to the Data Center Industry and Blockchain Association of Kazakhstan ( NABCD ), which brings together two-thirds of the country's legal miners, the unrest has not affected the regions where official crypto mining companies operate. The recent drop in Bitcoin hashrate was caused by the temporary internet outages, the industry body explained in a press release provided by Coinstelegram, insisting that the current situation has only a short-term impact on the sector and crypto prices. NABCD President Alan Dorjiyev commented:

At the moment the companies, members of the association, are working as usual. For our part, we are committed to ensuring that the social responsibility of business makes a positive contribution to the lives of the residents of the regions in which the data centers are located.

“From a strategic point of view, Kazakhstan will remain one of the most attractive areas for the development of cryptocurrency mining,” believes the NABCD. It assures that it is now maintaining dialogue with the relevant government authorities and announced that previously imposed restrictions on electricity supply for legal mining companies have been relaxed. The message comes after a Test report revealed in December that some mining companies had begun moving equipment out of the country due to power outages.

Do you expect Kazakhstan to remain a major crypto mining hotspot? Tell us in the comments section below.

Lubomir Tassev

Lubomir Tassev is a tech-savvy journalist from Eastern Europe who likes Hitchens' quote: "Being a writer is what I am, not what I do." In addition to crypto, blockchain and fintech, international politics and economics are two other sources of inspiration.

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