THE MINING POD: The Rise and Fall of Bitcoin Mining in Kazakhstan w/ Didar Bekbau

CoinDesk Podcast Network

Kazakhstan was once the second largest bitcoin mining hub in the world, but now it’s a shadow of its former self.

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Welcome back to The Mining Pod! Today, Didar Bekbau, CEO of Xive, joins us to analyze Kazakhstan's Bitcoin mining industry. Following China's 2021 mining ban, Kazakhstan briefly captured 15-18% of global hashrate, making it the second largest mining hub in the world, before government restrictions devastated the sector. Didar explains how aging Soviet-era infrastructure couldn't handle the surge, triggering a power price tax hike that drove miners to Russia and the US. He also explores whether Kazakhstan's energy-rich landscape might someday welcome miners back with proper planning and infrastructure investment.

# Notes:

- Kazakhstan peaked at 18% of global hash rate (2021)

- Mining capacity dropped from 1600MW to ~200-400MW

- Electricity tax reached $0.05-0.06 per kWh

- Russia became primary destination for fleeing miners

- Many miners relocated equipment to US and Russia

- Grid infrastructure dated from 1960s-1980s Soviet era

Timestamps:

00:00 Start

02:02 Current Kazakhstan mining overview

04:19 Scope of hashrate

06:14 Why declining hashrate?

08:49 Tax structure

11:58 Reverting the tax structure

13:42 Effects of China mining ban

14:51 Where power generators mining?

17:14 Supply & demand imbalance

21:05 Future for mining in Kazakhstan?

23:59 GDM owning generation

25:07 Russia mining

27:34 Off grid mining in Kazakhstan

29:55 Ukraine war and natural gas

31:52 GDA, grid demand & government

33:12 Kazakhstan mining outlook

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