Kazakhstan cut off the electric supply of crypto mining companies a day before power outages hit parts of the country. It came into effect on January 24 and will end on January 31.
The move is in accordance with the restrictions set by the government aimed at maintaining the balance of electricity and capacity. Recently, crypto miners surged in Kazakhstan, after China banned the industry.
But the power grid of the whole Central Asia is interconnected, so other countries such as Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan experienced blackouts as well. Not only are airports closed, but millions have lost electricity and water
Minting Bitcoin requires special computers that solve complex encrypted problems, and the biggest operating cost for a business is electricity. Miners attracted to Kazakhstan by cheap coal power made it the second largest Bitcoin-producing country in the world after the US in August, according to the Cambridge Center for Alternative Finance.