Kazakh officials seize 360 Bitcoin ASICs in violation of the mining tax

As part of Kazakhstan's ongoing campaign against "gray" cryptocurrency miners, the authorities confiscated 360 Bitcoin ASICs.

A announcement by the Financial Monitoring Agency today stated that officials "identified persons involved in mining activities in contravention of the laws of Kazakhstan."

"360 units of ASIC miners that produce digital currency 'Bitcoin' were confiscated during the search. The agency stated that three containers containing 'Mining farms were found and confiscated.

Opportunity costs

This follows Marat Sultangaziyev's proposal to raise the electricity tariff 335 percent. It would mean that crypto miners will no longer have to pay $0.0023 per kWh flat rate - instead, the electricity rate will increase up to $0.01.

Sultangaziyev also suggested that a tax be imposed on mining equipment. This should be the same tax as casinos.

This latest initiative, along with Prime Minister Alikhans Smailov's recent order to "take decisive actions against gray mining," could eventually lead to the expulsion of miners from the country. That's exactly when Kazakhstan began to earn its reputation as a mining Mecca.

China, which was the world's leader for Bitcoin hash rate shares, outlawed last year. This forced the affected enterprises to shut down or relocate.

Because of its cheap and stable energy supply, Kazakhstan was a prime location for Chinese miners. However, this country's appeal to miners could slowly wane, particularly if the local authorities keep putting more pressure on it.