Kazakh authorities will force miners to invest in energy

First Vice Minister of Digital Development of Kazakhstan Kanysh Tuleushin said that legal cryptocurrency mining could become an important driver for the development of the energy sector and attracting investment. In an article published in the government newspaper Kazakhstanskaya Pravda, he emphasized that the country has all the necessary conditions for creating a sustainable and profitable blockchain ecosystem.

According to Tuleushin, the country's key advantages are the excess of electricity in regions with developed generation - especially in the Pavlodar and Karaganda regions, where coal and hydroelectric power plants operate; low cost of electricity at traditional stations; cold climate in the northern regions, which reduces the cost of cooling mining equipment. These factors have already allowed Kazakhstan to attract major players from the world of digital assets, the vice minister noted.

Instead of a ban or complete liberalization, Kazakhstan intends to follow the path of regulated mining, in which part of the miners' profits will be directed to the development of energy infrastructure. The ministry plans to oblige companies to invest in the modernization of energy networks; build new substations; develop renewable energy sources; and improve the efficiency of existing stations. The goal is not only to compensate for the load on the network, but also to eliminate the energy deficit that was previously observed due to illegal mining.

"Mining is not an end in itself. It is an opportunity to start a dialogue about the future of the digital economy," he said, noting that the state is interested in using the crypto industry as a platform for a technological breakthrough.

Earlier, the Central Bank of Kazakhstan took on the regulation of the circulation of digital assets in the country.