Kazakhstan Parliament Embraces Law Regulating Digital Asset Mining

Kazakhstan’s Senate has given green signal to a bill designed to regulate digital assets and associated activities in the Central Asian country. Along with additional legal documents, the new law “On Digital Assets in the Republic of Kazakhstan” generates conditions for establishing a virtual asset ecosystem in the nation, as per the report of a local media outlet.

Members of the upper house of parliament considered the comprehensive package earlier in the month of January and decided to propose a number of amendments to the Mazhilis, which had already approved its version of the legislation. Nevertheless, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev dissolved the lower house on 19th January and called early elections.

A key goal for the government is to regulate the activities of organizations minting virtual assets in the nation. Kazakhstan became a virtual asset mining hotspot following China’s crackdown on the crypto businesses. The influx of miners has been blamed for its heightening electricity shortfall.

The newly adopted legislation creates a legal framework for the domain and regularizes the market for virtual assets by implementing licensing for both miners and digital asset exchanges. The authorities also expect it will attract more foreign investments and increase state budget revenues.

Notably, the new rules come after registered digital asset miners began paying a higher surcharge for the electricity they use under a law signed by President Tokayev in the month of July, last year. Besides its regulatory efforts, the country has been going after underground crypto mining farms and unlawful trading platforms.