The top three countries contributing to the Bitcoin hash rate (China, the United States, and Russia) continue to increase their share of the total hash rate, while the share of other countries such as Malaysia, Germany, and Iran decreases correspondingly.
Kazakhstan has been one of the leading countries in Bitcoin mining for over a year, surpassing Russia in February 2021.
As of January 2022, Kazakhstan was responsible for 13.22% of the total Bitcoin hash rate, second only to the United States (37.84%) and China (21.11%).
The Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance found that Kazakhstan’s hash rate contribution averaged 24.8 exahashes per second over the course of a month. Meanwhile, the US and China contributed 71 exahashes (Eh/s) per second and 39.6 exahashes (Eh/s) per second, respectively.
The International Energy Agency (IEA) highlighted Kazakhstan’s reliance on non-renewable energy, such as oil (over 50%), coal (28%) and natural gas (17%) until 2020. The study revealed that:
However, the top three countries contributing to the Bitcoin hash rate (China, the United States, and Russia) continue to increase their share of the total hash rate, while other countries such as Malaysia, Germany, and Iran see their share decrease. Kazakhstan was one of the first countries to welcome Chinese miners who were displaced when the Chinese government imposed a blanket ban on Bitcoin and cryptocurrency mining and trading.
As of September 2022, China has resumed mining operations, but the country’s previous position as the largest Bitcoin mining hub has been taken over by the US.
According to local reports from Kazakhstan, the country is planning to legalize a system for converting cryptocurrencies to fiat currency. At the Digital Bridge 2022 international forum, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev spoke about his vision to make Kazakhstan a leader in digital technology, cryptocurrency ecosystems and regulated mining. “We are ready to go further. If this financial instrument shows its further relevance and security, it will certainly receive full legal recognition,” Tokayev stated.
