An exodus of cryptocurrency miners from China opened doors for many regions seeking ways to capitalize on the massive business industry. One of these regions is Kazakhstan and apparently is facing the flip side of these benefits. Kazakhstan president, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, says the region will eventually face an unpopular decision about the construction of a nuclear power plant, Nikkei reports.
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"Looking into the future, we will have to make an unpopular decision about the construction of a nuclear power plant," Tokayev said.
Moreover, cryptocurrency miners in Kazakhstan are now facing electricity shortages due to the overload of energy grid, according to the Financial Times. The report says that Kazakhstan's demand for electricity has risen 8% since the beginning of 2021. This is quite a big jump given the fact Kazakhstan usually experienced 1-2 % annual growth in average.
However, Tokayev's idea might be facing challenges as — according to several reports — the Soviets performed at least 468 nuclear tests in Kazakhstan in the nuclear arms race against the United States between 1949 and 1989.
In May this year, Chinese Vice Premier, Liu He, said that China's authorities should impose more regulation on the mining market in order to protect the financial system. He said that Beijing should crack down on bitcoin mining and trading behavior, and resolutely prevent the transmission of "individual risks to the social field."
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