Bitcoin.com News and UNLOCK Blockchain both cover Kazakhstan's flare-gas crypto mining initiative but give conflicting years for the founding presidential decree.
What all sources agree on
- Kazakhstan is developing a legal framework to let crypto miners use associated/flared gas from oil fields as a power source.
- Both report an estimated 1.2–1.3 TWh of potential power available from flared gas.
- Both quote Daniyar Mubarakov, head of the Blockchain and Digital Mining Association, on the flared-gas power potential.
- Both quote Batyr Bauyrzhan, technical director of WES LLP, on the ability to lock in power prices via this model.
- Both quote Gizzat Baitursynov, Kazakhstan's vice minister of AI and digital development, on the government developing rules for the arrangement.
- Both attribute the policy's origin to a decree signed by President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev in July.
- Both reference Kazakhstan's 2021 crypto mining boom and the resulting strain on the power grid as background to the current auction system.
Where the reports disagree
1Year the founding presidential decree was signed
President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev signed the “On measures to stimulate and develop the digital asset industry in the Republic of Kazakhstan” decree in July, which called for a bill to provide a mechanism for companies to take advantage of gas opportunities in the digital mining field, there has been a rise in miners’ interest in these possibilities.
Kazakhstan is building a legal framework to let crypto miners use electricity generated from flared oil-field gas, following a July 2024 presidential decree, with an estimated 1.2–1.3 TWh of potential power available from 300–340 million cubic meters of gas flared annually.
What would settle it: The official published text of the decree in Kazakhstan's legal register (Adilet) or a government gazette record showing its signing date.
What to make of it
Treat the described flare-gas mining scheme, its estimated 1.2–1.3 TWh power potential, and the officials quoted as consistently reported; the exact year the underlying presidential decree was signed differs between the two accounts and should not be treated as settled until checked against the decree's official publication record.
Treat the described flare-gas mining scheme, its estimated 1.2–1.3 TWh power potential, and the officials quoted as consistently reported; the exact year the underlying presidential decree was signed differs between the two accounts and should not be treated as settled until checked against the decree's official publication record.