Kazakhstan working on a digital currency roadmap

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One of the largest countries in Asia is working on a roadmap that will spark the adoption of digital currencies and blockchain technology. Kazakhstan is working on implementing enabling regulations for the industry at a time when block reward mining in the country has soared.

In a recent statement on the country’s Prime Minister Askar Mamin’s website, it was revealed that the government wants to promote the adoption of digital currencies in the Central Asian country. As per the statement, Kazakhstan already ranks fourth globally in block reward mining. While the government acknowledges this growth, it wants to attract companies in other sectors of the digital currency industry aside from the block reward miners.

One of the areas the government is seeking to work on is regulating the industry. Kazakhstan is yet to implement any form of rules to govern the budding industry, and according to the statement, this has stifled growth. The government is especially concerned with digital currency exchanges. Regulating this sector will allow it to accurately monitor its growth and even allow it to levy taxes.

Government officials propose that the country’s exchange should be operated via the Astana International Financial Center, a major national financial hub.

Kazakhstan, which is the ninth largest country in the world, has seen a rapid rise in block reward mining. The key driver is the low electricity costs, with Kazakhstani power rates being among the lowest in the world. This has attracted a number of international block reward miners to the country. One of the companies that have shifted its operations to Kazakhstan is BigBlock Datacenter. The French miner had initially set up in Ukraine but was forced to relocate as a result of political instability and rising electricity costs.

Sébastien Gouspillou, the company’s CEO revealed that Kazakhstan produces more electricity than it consumes.

“With renewable electricity such as hydroelectricity, there’s production capacity that isn’t necessarily resold. The dam depends on the driving force of water, which can sometimes overwhelm demand,” he told Equal Times.

Not only does his company provide several jobs for Kazakhstanis, but it also acts as “a buyer of last resort for the supply of electricity and thus an important actor in global energy transition,” he told the outlet.

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