Kazakhstan miners ready to restart operations as internet restored
Crypto farms could be fully functioning by tomorrow
As the internet was restored in Kazakhstan after the unrest caused by skyrocketing prices of energy, BitRiver'd CEO is confident crypto mining operations will quickly restart, while according to a local bitcoin miner, Didar Bekbau, farms could be fully functioning by tomorrow, 13 January.
According to BitRiver estimates, Kazakhstan currently ranks second in the world in bitcoin mining with a global market share of over 18%.
“Kazakhstan can quickly restore the interest of market participants in eco-mining projects on its territory, however, it will be possible to talk about the implementation of the existing potential after the normalisation of the political situation,” said Igor Runets, founder and CEO of BitRiver, one of the world's largest green mining factories.
Rugnets underlined how Russia could become the main US rival in mining, following a Chinese ban, once regulation on cryptos is released by the Kremlin.
“During a period of instability in a neighbouring country, the market for the production and circulation of digital financial assets, including cryptocurrencies, in Russia may become even more attractive and continue to grow steadily,” he said.
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Blockchain alliance Russia-Kazakhstan
Via the main Russian Blockchain Association, RACIB, the BitRiver CEO stressed the possibility of a partnership with Kazakhstan, which would challenge American mining dominance.
“I am confident that cooperation between Russia and Kazakhstan in the field of digital green energy will not suffer from temporary internal instability,” he said.
“I express the hope that the internal political situation in the country will stabilise as soon as possible, and security will be ensured for the entire population and economic facilities,” he said, adding that BitRiver does not operate in the Republic of Kazakhstan, and the unrest did not affect the company.
Unrest in Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan's president, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, recently spoke with European Council president Charles Michel, and characterised the tragic events as an “unprecedented act of aggression and assault on our statehood.”
He added: “The violent actions of terrorists caused numerous casualties among law enforcement officers and civilians, about 1,300 businesses were damaged, more than 100 trade centres, banks were attacked, about 500 police cars were burned.”
According to Tokayev, the preliminary economic damage to the country may amount up to $2bn-$3bn.
The protests, which took place far from the area where crypto miners are operating, are reportedly still ongoing in some regions of the country, with over 10,000 protesters arrested. The protests began over increases in fuel prices, creating the biggest crisis in the Central Asian nation since 1991.
