Kazakh Economy Minister Alibek Quantyrov says his team has suggested a tenfold increase in the tax rate for cryptocurrency-mining companies operating in Kazakhstan.
Quantyrov said on February 15 that the move was necessary to regulate all cryptocurrency-mining companies in the Central Asian nation, which consume electric power from both energy-producing companies and unregulated energy-supplying groups.
Quantryov said the suggested change would not affect ordinary consumers.
"Our ministry suggests considering to separate a group of consumers of energy-producing organizations for the purpose of setting higher tariffs for them than our groups of consumers have," Quantyrov said.
He added that the tax rate for cryptocurrency-mining companies should be raised from 1 tenge ($0.0023) to 10 tenges per kilowatt hour (kWh) of consumed electricity.
Energy Minister Bolat Aqsholaqov supported Quantyrov, saying that electricity quotas must be established for cryptocurrency miners and the price they pay for electricity must be increased as of April 20.
Cryptocurrency miners use vast amounts of electricity because of the number of high-powered computers needed to try to unlock complex numerical puzzles that must be solved to create or "mine" the currency and complete transactions.
Aqsholaqov said it was necessary to ban cryptocurrency miners buying electric power from unregulated energy suppliers and make it possible for them to get power supply from renewable power sources.
Last week, President Qasym-Zhomart Toqaev urged the government to raise cryptocurrency-mining taxes, noting that the current rate was too low.
Oil-rich Kazakhstan has ranked as one of the world's leaders in cryptocurrency mining in recent months. The country accounted for 18 percent of cryptocurrency mined worldwide in August 2021.