According to Cambridge University experts, the energy consumption index of BTC miners shows that Kazakhstan closes the top three countries in terms of the contribution of capacities to the Bitcoin hashrate.
According to the Cambridge Center for Alternative Finance (CCAF), Kazakhstan has been holding the third place in Bitcoin hashrate for a year now, after surpassing Russia in 2021. The Central Asian country immediately follows the US and China. As of January 2022, Kazakhstan’s share in the hash rate was 13.22%. For comparison, the historical leaders in mining, the United States and China, occupy a share of the BTC hashrate of 37.84% and 21.11%, respectively.
According to the data of experts from Cambridge, over the same period of time, the absolute (average monthly) contribution of Kazakhstan to the BTC hash rate was 24.8 ECH/s, the USA and China contributed 71 ECH/s and 39.6 ECH/s, respectively. These leaders of the mining industry bypass countries such as Malaysia, Germany and Iran.
The International Energy Agency (IEA), funded by the European Union, noted back in 2020 Kazakhstan’s heavy dependence on non-renewable energy sources such as oil (over 50%), coal (28%) and natural gas (17%). According to IEA experts, most of the country’s coal is used to produce electricity and heat, and the lion’s share of oil goes to end consumers, especially car owners.
Last week, Kazakh lawmakers approved a package of laws on cryptocurrency mining. The purpose of the package of four projects is to create a legislative framework for the industry of mining and circulation of secured and unsecured cryptocurrencies. At the beginning of the month, the Russian government demanded to update the agreement on the joint operation of the energy system of Russia and Kazakhstan, including for the purpose of supplying electricity for the production of cryptocurrencies.
Source: Bits
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