Experts from the National Bureau of Statistics have begun to publish data on the volumes of services rendered in the field of digital mining. In the first quarter of this year, licensed companies "mined" more than 11 billion tenge, and in the second quarter, they generated 7.5 billion tenge. The total volume for the six-month period amounted to 18.6 billion tenge. Currently, there is nothing to compare this with, as last year there was no detailed statistics on the volumes of services provided by cryptocurrency miners, reports finprom.kz.
The information-analytical system "Taldau" of the National Bureau of Statistics differentiates service providers by regions. Reports indicate that all reporting mining companies were registered in the Saryarka district of the capital. According to the register of licensed cryptocurrency mining companies from the Ministry of Digital Development, Innovations, and Aerospace Industry (MDDIAPI) of the Republic of Kazakhstan, only three organizations are registered in this district. Among them are data centers LLP "AISolutions," LLP "BCD Company," and LLP "KZ Systems." In October, the portal Energyprom.kz reported that the latter two companies are major players in the electricity trading market among miners.
In total, as of November this year, according to the MDDIAPI, 17 companies with digital mining data centers were registered in Kazakhstan, along with 28 organizations that placed their equipment for cryptocurrency mining in third-party data centers. Compared to November 2023, the total number of "white" miners has increased by 7.1%. Notably, in the autumn of last year, there were significantly more data centers (30) than miners renting space for their "ASICs" (from English: application-specific integrated circuit — a high-power device for crypto mining) on foreign farms (12). Thus, the share of companies reporting service volumes to the National Bureau of Statistics out of the total number (45) is still small, at only 6.7%. Consequently, the volume of services they provided constitutes just a minor portion of the overall digital asset industry.
More than half (57.8%) of all licensed miners in November 2024 were registered in the capital. In Astana, there are nine data centers and 17 companies renting space in third-party centers. In the southern capital, only six mining firms operate, while five are located in Pavlodar region. Official licenses for such activities have also been granted to four organizations from Aktobe, two from Zhambyl, and one company each from Karaganda, Zhetysu, and West Kazakhstan regions.
Against the backdrop of the increasing number of mining companies that have legalized their activities, a crackdown on "gray" miners has intensified in Kazakhstan. The operations are structured to demonstrate to all that for illegal activities in the mining sector, sales, or exchange of cryptocurrencies, the owner of the company can have all illegally earned digital assets and real estate purchased with this money confiscated, and the entrepreneur could face imprisonment for several years.
According to statistics published by the Financial Monitoring Agency, since the beginning of 2024, 18 crimes related to illegal mining of digital assets have been identified in Kazakhstan, amounting to approximately 36 billion tenge, four of which are linked to the placement of mining farms. This year, nine criminal cases have concluded with sentences for crimes from various periods. It is known that four individuals received actual prison sentences ranging from two to 3.5 years, two were sentenced to restrictions on freedom and now have a criminal record, prohibiting them from engaging in entrepreneurial activities in the field of digital assets. One such case was registered in Shymkent, where two residents were found guilty of establishing an underground farm that "mined" cryptocurrency worth more than 100 million tenge. After the Shymkent residents were convicted, all the assets earned through this "labor" were seized — more than 1,000 "ASICs" and bitcoins totaling 370 million tenge.
Over the past three years, the situation regarding the digital asset industry and Kazakhstan's position on the global stage in this field has changed significantly. According to the University of Cambridge, in 2021, Kazakhstan ranked second in the world in cryptocurrency hash rate. However, following state regulation of the digital asset sector, the introduction of legislative restrictions, requirements to pay taxes, and purchasing electricity through mining farm capacity auctions, Kazakhstan's hash rate has significantly declined. According to the latest relevant data from the Russian portal "Top-Mining," Kazakhstan is also among the top ten countries with great potential for cryptocurrency mining. However, in terms of total mining equipment capacity (approximately 100 MW), Kazakhstan ranks eighth among leading countries.
The top three leaders in the global digital asset mining segment are led by the USA. The share of cryptocurrency hash rate mined in this country is estimated to range from 30% to 40%, with total capacity potentially reaching 4 GW. Russia holds second place in the ranking with a capacity of over 1 GW. Almost the same total capacity is possessed by equipment operating in China.