Kazakhstan has approved new rules governing strategic digital mining as part of efforts to encourage large-scale investment projects in the digital mining sector and further develop the country’s digital asset industry, the Ministry of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Development of Kazakhstan announced, Qazinform News Agency reports.
The government-approved regulations establish a voluntary program that allows eligible companies to obtain the status of a strategic digital miner. Only companies that meet specific requirements and submit official applications will be considered for participation.
Applications will be reviewed by a commission under the Ministry of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Development, with representatives from relevant government agencies taking part in the evaluation process. The decision to grant strategic digital miner status will be based on an assessment of the submitted documents and materials.
Companies that receive strategic digital miner status will have the opportunity to sign direct electricity purchase agreements with power-generating organizations for periods of up to 10 years. The electricity price under such agreements cannot exceed the maximum tariff established by Kazakhstan’s legislation.
Under the new rules, participants in the program will contribute 10% of their remaining digital assets after accounting for electricity purchase and transmission costs to Kazakhstan’s National Strategic Crypto Reserve. This replaces the previous approach of transferring 10% of the total volume of mined digital assets.
The ministry emphasized that the National Strategic Crypto Reserve will be created without the use of public funds. Its growth will rely exclusively on the voluntary participation of strategic digital miners, allowing the state to build a strategic reserve of digital assets.
“We are consistently working to establish Kazakhstan as a competitive and investment-attractive jurisdiction for the development of digital assets. The institution of strategic digital mining is another step in this direction,” the ministry said. Earlier, Qazinform reported Kazakhstan is set to roll out the digital tenge in government procurement.