Kazakhstan's President Signs Legislation to Limit Energy Usage of Crypto Mining

The president of Kazakhstan, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, signed into law legislation that will limit the energy used by domestic crypto miners, according to a statement posted on the president's website.

The Central Asian country has been struggling to meet electricity demand as bitcoin miners, including illegal operators, flocked to its territory in the past couple of years, putting a strain on the grid infrastructure. Though still hoping to develop its broader ecosystem, the country is tightening regulations for miners.

The new law allows miners to consume electricity from the national grid only when there is a surplus, effectively capping the industry's energy usage. The surplus will be distributed among licensed operators, who will be able to bid for the power. Those miners using renewable energy, imported electricity, or their own energy generation capacity not connected to the grid, will be exempt from this cap.

The legislation mandates that miners be licensed by authorities and makes some minor adjustments to the taxation regime for the industry.

The government will also be approving a list of mining pools that firms can use, and will oblige miners to sell their mined crypto to crypto exchanges registered with the country's special economic zone, the Astana International Finance Center. Miners will have to sell half of their crypto to such exchanges by 2024, and 75% by 2025.

Kazakhstan is also looking to regulate digital assets exchanges in the wake of the FTX fiasco.

Read more: Kazakhstan Tightens Regulation for Miners, Looks to Develop Broader Crypto Industry