The Government of Kazakhstan has approved rules for “strategic digital mining” and offered miners preferential access to electricity in exchange for transferring part of the mined coins to the state crypto reserve. The new regulations will take effect on August 1, and electricity quotas have been calculated for 10 years.
Pursuant to the resolution, energy will be supplied by Ekibastuz GRES-1, which is part of the “Samruk-Energo” holding. The total limit is 300 MW, i.e., less than 8% of the plant’s capacity. Miners will be able to purchase electricity directly from the producer at a price not exceeding the established tariff.
In return, program participants must transfer 10% of all mined coins to the state reserve after deducting the cost of the consumed electricity. To do this, they will need to open a separate crypto wallet for distributing the mined assets, while using other wallets is not prohibited.
To access the benefits, the company must meet a number of strict requirements: have its own data center with capacity of at least 150 MW, suitable infrastructure for connecting to the grids, equipment with capacity of 150 TH/s or higher, no debts to the state budget, and no encumbrances on property. Two agreements with internet service providers are also required, along with its own repair service and confirmed qualifications of employees.
According to the managing partner of the mining company “Algorithm,” Pavel Gudimov, Kazakhstan continues to be a notable player in the market, and electricity there is competitive. However, in his view, the new conditions are too strict and are aimed not at the mass market but at the largest corporate structures.