Kazakhstan trades 150 MW of goodwill for a slice of the crypto pie 🥧

Kazakhstan approved a framework on July 18 that grants large-scale crypto miners access to regulated electricity quotas in exchange for handing over a share of their mined assets to a state-backed reserve, according to Government Resolution No. 638 published in the PRG.kz legal database and reported by Kazakhstan-based outlet Zakon.kz.

Under the rules, miners must own a digital mining data center with at least 150 megawatts (MW) of capacity and operate hardware with a minimum computing power of 150 terahashes per second (TH/s). Applicants are also required to have qualified technical staff, on-site repair facilities, multiple internet service contracts and to be current on taxes and other payments. The resolution takes effect on Aug. 1, 2026.

Approved miners will sign agreements with the autonomous cluster fund of Astana Hub, a government-backed technology cluster, and purchase electricity from designated power-generating companies. The rules require a transfer of mined crypto assets to a reserve mechanism but do not specify the share; local media reports cited a 10% transfer rate, a figure Cointelegraph said it could not independently verify.

Kazakhstan ranked fifth globally by Bitcoin mining activity in the Cambridge Digital Mining Industry Report published in April 2025. The new mining framework builds on the country's broader push to build state-backed digital asset infrastructure, including the September 2025 launch of the Alem Crypto Fund, a state-backed vehicle focused on long-term digital asset reserves whose first investment involved BNB through a partnership with Binance Kazakhstan.

The country has separately moved to widen regulated crypto use. In July 2026, Alatau City Bank and Binance Kazakhstan launched Crypto Pay, a service that lets users transact via QR codes and point-of-sale terminals connected to the bank's acquiring network. Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has separately signed a decree aimed at accelerating crypto adoption across the country.