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Over the accomplished few days, crypto media accept been afflicted up by the account that the government of Kazakhstan is because a ban on cryptocurrency mining. This was declared by Daniyar Akishev, Governor of the National Bank of Kazakhstan. Is the country absolutely activity to become the aboriginal to ban mining, or was that alone a account by an official who doesn’t accept the technology? Let’s booty a afterpiece attending at what’s absolutely activity on in Kazakhstan.
Also read: Interest in Cryptocurrency Jumped 15-Fold in Kazakhstan
Why Some People Want to Ban Mining
For 80 years, Kazakhstan was allotment of the Soviet Union, area entrepreneurship was advised as a bent offense. Buying and affairs any article by a clandestine alone was advised profiteering, amiss by a bastille appellation of up to seven years and confiscation of property. The arrested entrepreneurship, forth with the disability to reorient the abridgement and the apathetic clip of innovation, still bassinet the development of best post-Soviet countries.
In modern-day Kazakhstan, best managers of ample enterprises, as able-bodied as the astral officials, accept accustomed Western apprenticeship through the “Bolashak” accompaniment affairs absolutely accoutrement the costs. Many of them are Ivy League graduates. The country is affective advanced acknowledgment to these people. Those who anticipate in backward 20th aeon agreement are captivation it back.
The Governor of the National Bank has never formed in business. He accelerating from the Institute of National Economy, in Kazakhstan in the ‘90s, and is now aggravating to accompany the country aback to that decade.
The Innovations of Kazakhstan
Huge amounts of money are actuality spent to digitize Kazakhstan. 70% of the country’s gross calm artefact comes from the auction of mineral assets such as oil, gas, and coal. The government is aiming to abate the country’s assurance on minerals afore the oil runs out, or its amount avalanche again, afflictive addition bread-and-butter crisis.
Progress is already actuality made. For example, Kazakhstan has the best e-government in the region, alike bigger than that of Russia. In 2015-2016, the Doing Business baronial placed the country amid the fastest growing economies in the world. In agreement of GDP, the Kazakhstan is additional alone to the Russian Federation in its region.
The National Bank Has No Authority to Ban Mining
Nevertheless, there are still bodies in the country who are aggravating to “ban aggregate they don’t understand.” In October 2017, the Governor of the National Bank said that he didn’t absolutely accept what cryptocurrencies were. Judging by his latest statements, he still hasn’t “figured it out”. Theoretically, mining and badge barter may alone be banned by the Ministry of Economic Development. However, no official from that administration has fabricated any such statement.
The National Bank’s attitude does not accede with the accompaniment action of Kazakhstan and had not been agreed with any added government body. We accept already witnessed agnate precedents in Nigeria and South Korea, area admiral with little to no compassionate of the concepts of cryptocurrency and blockchain approved to ban them. They “got slapped” by their country’s administration and never again these attempts.
Since blockchain and cryptocurrencies are accordingly linked, a blockchain ban would disengage the government behavior from the aftermost several years. To date, electricity ante in Kazakhstan are some of the everyman in the world. In the arctic regions of the country 1 kWh costs beneath than 1 cent (USD). The Ministry of the National Economy of Kazakhstan has estimated the balance accommodation at 3,500 MW.
If the surplus electricity is awash to mining farms, Kazakhstan may accept up to $1 billion added acquirement anniversary year and will be able to attempt with China and Canada in the cryptocurrency mining sector. I bet NBK’s Governor is starting to see for himself that the advance is unstoppable and no one should get in its way.
Getting Rid of the Resource Curse
The country’s agenda transformation is a footfall appear abbreviation its annex on mineral assets and a about-face abroad from exporting mineral assets appear exporting technologies. At Lisbon’s Web Summit aftermost year, Kazakhstan presented 42 projects for the country’s agenda transformation, which will accept up to $1 billion of investments. Among these projects are the digitization of ability extraction, the addition of an able carriage system, the ambience up of a unified arrangement of agenda contracts, the drive to digitalize tax control, etc.
Adopting Blockchain Technologies
Most of the changes are accompanying to the addition of blockchain-based technologies. Kazakhstan was one of the aboriginal countries in the apple to announce the acceptance of the blockchain. This has been again acicular out by the country’s President, the Prime Minister and the band ministries. For example, President Nursultan Nazarbayev has appropriate implementing blockchain in the taxation system, online burden tracking and community operations.
Blockchain-based VAT administering is appointed for barrage in 2019. It will advice clue banking affairs of taxpayers, ensure affirmed VAT refunds and avert gray areas. Kazakhstan’s assembly are additionally participating in negotiations on the conception of a Eurasian cryptocurrency.
The account of the National Bank’s Governor goes adjoin the accompaniment action and the country’s development strategy. This abatement President Nazarbayev mentioned the capitalizations of bitcoin and ethereum and declared cryptocurrencies as “absolute innovations”. “70 billion dollars of bitcoin assets represents an complete growth, complete productivity, and complete innovation. That’s absolutely what we need,” Kazakhstan’s arch of accompaniment said.
Do you anticipate Kazakhstan is assertive to become a baton in cryptocurrency acceptance and blockchain accomplishing in Central Asia? Tell us in the comments area below.
About the author: Leonid Muravjov is VP at the Blockchain and Crypto Technology Association of Kazakhstan. Alongside developing the blockchain ecosystem in the country, Leonid is a CEO and architect of ROI Group, a business and consulting bureau with 40 advisers and $6 actor of turnover. Among ROI audience are Visa, #1 Kazakhstan bank, #1 Kazakhstan telco, arch construction, insurance, and FMCG companies.
Leonid’s contacts:
Email: [email protected]
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wetear
Images via Shutterstock.
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