Потери Таджикистана от illegal майнинга криптовалюты превышают $3,5 млн Translation: Tajikistans losses from illegal cryptocurrency mining exceed $3.5 million

In the first half of 2025, the damage due to illegal cryptocurrency mining in Tajikistan exceeded $3.5 million, as reported by the Attorney General Habibullo Vohidzoda, according to local media.

«There are individuals bringing in mining equipment from abroad and illegally mining cryptocurrency,» he noted.

While mining is not officially banned in Tajikistan, authorities are actively combating unlawful connections to power networks. Since January, law enforcement has initiated 190 criminal cases related to electricity theft. A total of 3,988 individuals have faced administrative or disciplinary actions, with approximately $4.1 million reimbursed to the budget.

Currently, the debt owed by households and local businesses for electricity exceeds $493 million.

Kazakhstan is also experiencing a surge in illegal cryptocurrency mining. On August 11, the Financial Monitoring and the National Security Committee uncovered a scheme where employees of energy companies illegally supplied 50 MWh of electricity to miners for two years — enough to power a city of 70,000 residents.

The value of the stolen electricity is estimated at $16.5 million. An investigation revealed that the organizer of the scheme purchased two apartments and four cars with the proceeds, which are now subject to confiscation.

Mining is not prohibited in Kazakhstan but is regulated. Farms can only acquire electricity through the Ministry of Energy, limited to a maximum of 1 MWh, aimed at reducing the load on the energy system.

Previously, the First Deputy Minister of Digital Development, Innovations, and Aerospace Industry, Kanіsh Tuleushin, proposed promoting mining in the country. According to Tuleushin, cryptocurrency miners could help modernize Kazakhstan’s energy system.

The rise of illegal mining in the region is linked to China’s ban on cryptocurrency mining. Consequently, miners have relocated to neighboring countries with cheaper electricity and weaker regulatory oversight.

«Central Asia offers relatively inexpensive energy, minimal regulatory oversight, and often vague legal frameworks for mining. These conditions allow illegal operators to conduct large-scale operations while avoiding formal control,» noted Ari Redbord, head of global policy at TRM Labs, in a comment to Decrypt.

He emphasized that the region is attractive not only to Chinese miners but also to Russian companies using crypto infrastructure to circumvent sanctions. The expert believes this could also lead to increased illegal mining in the area.

«Given the high interconnectivity of the region’s financial and crypto infrastructure, illegal mining in Kazakhstan or Tajikistan could utilize the same cross-border networks, counterparties, and liquidation channels as those used for evading sanctions,» he explained.

It is worth noting that on August 6, illegal cryptocurrency miners were discovered on a livestock farm in the Ingush village of Surkhakhi, where the volume of stolen electricity surpassed 8 million kWh, comparable to the consumption of the Ingush Republican Clinical Hospital over five years.