Kazakhstan signs law that requires crypto miners to pay additional fees 

Crypto miners in Kazakhstan should brace themselves as the government has just recently passed a law requiring them to pay additional fees for operating crypto mining businesses. 

Kazakhstan President, Kassym-Jomart Tokayevv has just approved a law imposing an additional 1 tenge (around $0.0023) per kilowatt-hour used by crypto miners. 

Bagdat Musin, Minister of Digital Development, Innovation, and Aerospace Industry said that the law aims to curb the growing problem of excessive electricity consumption coming from crypto miners who were displaced by China.

He also added that the massive volume of electricity flowing on crypto mining operations could have been used on better things. 

Cryptomining block cries out

Albert Rau, the author of the bill, is confident that no major consequences would come out of the law, given that the increase in electricity fees isn’t that big. 

But the Association of Blockchain and Data Center Industry of Kazakhstan has expressed its concerns about the upcoming law, saying that it would have a negative impact on crypto miners. The association also said that with the increased electricity fees, the country’s crypto appeal will decrease as a consequence. 

Many analysts believe that the law is the government’s way of capitalizing on the hoards of crypto miners who are setting businesses in the country, mainly because of China’s hostility on crypto mining. 

Kazakhstan, a rising crypto country

Some of the big names in the crypto industry have expressed their desire to operate in the country. Bit Mining has already released a statement saying that it will soon establish a 100-megawatt mining center in Kazakhstan. While Canaan, a hardware manufacturing giant, has already started operating a service center there. 

Image courtesy of Cointelegraph News/YouTube

Source: https://bitcoinerx.com/blockchain/kazakhstan-signs-law-that-requires-crypto-miners-to-pay-additional-fees/