Kazakhstan proposes ’70/30′ model to fund energy upgrades through crypto mining

Kazakhstan is pushing forward with plans to modernize its energy system through digital mining and expand crypto trading beyond the Astana International Financial Centre economic zone.

In an op-ed published in Kazakhstanskaya Pravda, Kanysh Tuleushin, First Vice Minister of Digital Development, Innovation and Aerospace Industry, outlined the government’s strategy to use digital mining to upgrade the country’s energy infrastructure and improve efficiency. Under a proposed “70/30” model, foreign investors would fund upgrades to thermal power stations, with 70% of the new energy output directed to the national grid and 30% allocated for mining operations.

Tuleushin noted that this model mirrors practices in the United States, where crypto miners help balance the power grid by consuming excess electricity during periods of low demand. He believes Kazakhstan can adopt a similar approach, positioning mining farms as a tool to stabilize and support the energy system.

He also proposed using associated petroleum gas, a byproduct of oil production often flared or wasted, to generate electricity for mining farms. This would reduce environmental impact and create new revenue streams for oil producers.

According to Tuleushin, digital mining has contributed $34.6 million in tax revenue over the past three years. Since 2023, Kazakhstan has registered over 415,000 pieces of mining equipment, issued 84 licenses, and accredited five mining pools, with the sector continuing to grow.

Alongside its mining plans, Kazakhstan is also considering a nationwide expansion of crypto trading regulations, which are currently restricted to the AIFC—a special economic zone with an independent legal framework.

Crypto trading volume at AIFC exchanges grew from $324.2 million in 2023 to $1.4 billion in 2024. However, experts estimate that the total digital asset transaction volume in Kazakhstan reached $4.1 billion in 2023, with 91.5% occurring outside the scope of regulation.

“… if all restrictions were lifted and digital asset trading was allowed across Kazakhstan, the impact could be significant. Flexible rules would attract major players, as we saw in the UAE. Kazakhstan might become Central Asia’s crypto hub, competing with Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan, which have also embraced the market. Legalizing the gray zone would bring billions of tenge into the budget. For example, just a 10% tax could generate more than 190 billion tenge per year ($372.9 million), enough to construct dozens of new schools and hospitals from scratch,” the minister stated.

To that end, Tuleushin proposed the introduction of flexible crypto trading rules outside the AIFC. He said the Ministry of Digital Development is currently working on proposals to establish transparent crypto exchanges and ATMs. However, implementation would require coordination with the National Bank and the Financial Market Regulation Agency.

Additionally, Kazakhstan is currently gearing up to expand the use of the digital tenge, which was designed to enable full traceability of public spending. The CBDC pilot project has issued 250 billion digital tenge to date, using unique digital tags to track expenditure.