It’s been a week since the protests in Kazakhstan began. One reason for this was the drastic increase in the prices for LPG by the government. The displeasure quickly turned into violent excesses. According to the current status, 164 people were killed and more than 2,000 were injured. Although the situation seems to be gradually becoming less sharp, it is still relatively opaque from the outside. Also the Bitcoin or the enormous energy consumption when mining the cryptocurrency plays a role in the protests.
Kazakhstan, Kosovo and the Bitcoin
Due to the ongoing energy crisis in Kosovo, the south-eastern European country banned crypto mining last week. For some time now, however, similar conditions have also prevailed in Kazakhstan. According to the energy authority in Almaty, the miners were at times responsible for around eight percent of total electricity consumption.
The overload of the network caused multiple failures of power plants at the onset of winter, reports the Frankfurter Rundschau. For this and other reasons, the situation in the country was very tense even before the protests began. The increase in gas prices was ultimately the drop that broke the barrel.
Consequences for the cryptocurrency
The mining farms used to mine cryptos in Kazakhstan have now recovered 80 to 90 percent of their performance. Everywhere in the network there are warnings about the “blackout danger” and the risks for Bitcoin. Sure: Kosovo’s exit from mining also had consequences. The fact is, however, that the elimination of these farms will not damage the network.
A ban like the one in Kosovo could secure the power supply of the Central Asian country and thus also the political stability.
Source: Frankfurter Rundschau