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When China banned crypto mining earlier this year, miners were not left with any alternative other than to look for overseas markets. One of the markets fighting to be a major contributor to crypto mining in Kazakhstan, as it has become a major hub for miners.
However, crypto mining has created an energy crisis for the country, and now the president of Kazakhstan, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, has announced plans to build a nuclear power plant to sustain the growth of crypto mining.
Kazakhstan is becoming a major crypto mining hub
The president made this proposal during a meeting with bankers on November 19. After China cracked down on mining, many Chinese miners migrated to Kazakhstan. The country has a friendly mining framework with a lack of strict regulations and low costs of energy.
Kazakhstan is currently the second-largest Bitcoin mining hub. It accounts for 18.1% of the global crypto mining hash rate. However, the energy crisis shows that the country was unprepared for such a huge uptake in activity.
The president announced that the country was “already feeling the first signs of power shortages in Kazakhstan.” The rising rate of power consumption has increased significantly by around 8%, from 1000 to 1200 megawatts in 2021.
The president has now stated that he was proposing building a nuclear power plant. He had previously announced similar plans in 2019 and received much criticism. He has stated that he is willing to receive this criticism because “the role of a leader is to make unpopular decisions.”
“Therefore, looking into the future, we will have to make inherently unpopular decisions on the construction of a nuclear power plant,” the president stated.
Tokayev calls for a balanced regulatory framework
The president of Kazakhstan stated that it was crucial to examine the risks of cryptocurrencies and their impact on the existing financial system. However, he also called for a friendly regulatory environment that will allow local exchanges to grow.
Tokayev added that he wanted Kazakhstan to profit from innovation. “For me, as the Head of State, the transfer of our entire economy to new rails of innovative development is a priority task,” Tokayev stated.
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