BIT Mining steps up Bitcoin mining operations in Kazakhstan

The mining firm's expansion into Kazakhstan follows plans to introduce new energy fees for crypto miners starting in 2022.

Crypto mining firm BIT Mining, which recently announced it would be expanding out of the Chinese market, plans to purchase 2,500 Bitcoin miners for deployment in Kazakhstan.

In a Wednesday announcement, BIT Mining said it had entered a $6.6 million agreement to buy 2,500 Bitcoin (BTC) mining rigs. The firm has already put 3,819 BTC miners into operation at data centers in Kazakhstan, with another 4,033 machines on the way. Once all are deployed, the addition of the recent mining purchase is expected to increase BIT Mining’s hash rate capacity to roughly 458 petahashes per second.

Though based in the city of Shenzhen, BIT Mining has said it plans to expand its operations outside of China in response to the recent government crackdown on mining. Many Chinese firms have reportedly faced shutdowns following the State Council’s Financial Stability and Development Committee announcement, curtailing BTC mining amid financial risk concerns.

Related: Crypto miner claims all major Yunnan operations shut down in advance of CCP anniversary

Some mining firms including BIT Mining have been eyeing other countries to conduct operations as the regulatory environment in China becomes seemingly less favorable. BTC maximalist and Ballet CEO Bobby Lee recently told Cointelegraph the crackdown could be an indication that the government is testing the waters for a larger crypto ban. Crypto firms may be picking up on this regulatory backlash as well — OKEx and Huobi both plan to dissolve Chinese-based business entities.

While some of the miners driven out of China may be turning to Texas for solutions, lawmakers in Kazakhstan seem to be making themselves more attractive to crypto firms by allowing local banks to open accounts for cryptocurrency transactions. Major mining firm Canaan announced last month that it had begun mining BTC in Kazakhstan. Despite this, or perhaps because of the scramble to establish new operations, the country has said it plans to impose higher taxes on miners starting in January.

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