Kazakhstan Police Shut Down another Crypto Farm

Another crypto mining facility in Kazakhstan was shut down by the law enforcement authorities in their ongoing crackdown against illegal crypto mining activities in the country. The particular facility was located at a railway station and it is the latest mining operation to be targeted in Kazakhstan, which has been dealing with a power deficit. Since last year, the country has become a hotspot for crypto mining and has been trying to limit the activities in this sector. After China imposed a ban on the crypto industry back in May 2021, mining activities had shifted to Kazakhstan because of the low cost of energy.

This year, the Kazakhstan government has targeted illegal mining facilities, even though the energy-hungry crypto industry has been considered responsible for the blackouts and electricity shortages in the country. More than 100 crypto mining farms were recently shut down and an official announcement said that some of these also included registered mining activities that had shut down their operations ‘voluntarily’. Now, law enforcement authorities raided yet another crypto mining facility. According to reports, the crypto mining farm had been set up in a room on the Kundyzdyrailway station’s premises.

The Transport Police Department of Kazakhstan had carried out the search and 130 crypto mining units had been found by the officers, including spare parts and hard drives. They have seized the mining equipment and have also launched a pre-trial investigation. According to a high-ranking police official, they cannot disclose other information because of Article 201 of the Criminal Procedure Code. Due to the capped electricity rates in the country, Kazakhstan had been a rather promising destination for crypto miners who were forced to move out of China. However, mining operations in the country had become a target in the past weeks because the country wants to deal with the growing power deficit.

Many illegal crypto mining farms were removed from the grid and the cold winter months saw a number of registered mining companies dealing with power cuts. The crackdown has been covered by the local media. The Financial Monitoring Agency was tasked by President Kassym-JomartTokayev in February to identify all the mining operations with the assistance of other government bodies. A number of inspections have been conducted by the watchdog in which they have verified customs, tax and other technical documentation.

In January, Kazakhstan had experienced a great deal of political turmoil because of the constant interruptions in the power supply. This had forced a number of mining companies to shift their operations to other countries, such as the United States. The National Association of Blockchain and Data Center Industry disclosed in late February that most of the authorized miners had already shifted about one-third of their mining equipment out of Kazakhstan. It had also warned the country that it would not be able to retain its leading position when it comes to the power it contributes to the bitcoin network. Nonetheless, the government has continued its crackdown against mining operations in order to deal with their power deficit.