Kazakhstan, a crisis because of bitcoins. Which now also threatens Iran and Kosovo

From Claudio Del Frit

In the country that has been hit by street riots, 88,000 companies dealing with cryptocurrency have moved in within a few months. All over the world, these activities require an energy consumption equal to that of the whole of Poland

violent Street riots that swept Kazakhstan It mainly stemmed from the rise in LPG and Gasoline prices which had an impact on all consumer prices. But behind this fire (inflated and general order) There is a far reason: Dozens have landed in the country of the former Soviet Union Thousands of companies have dealt with cryptocurrency. In fact, Bitcoin activities have a very large impact on energy and this may have contributed to the rise in hydrocarbon prices, which the Kazakh government liberalized from 2022. Other countries face similar problems: Kosovo and Iran, For example, they suspended all bitcoin transactions as a result of black out active. Problems with the power grid – again for cryptocurrency mining – have also been reported in Different regions of China.

Over the course of 2021, according to a calculation by the Financial Times, Nearly 88,000 Bitcoin and Ethereum trading companies have moved to KazakhstanMainly from China, due to lower energy costs. Massive transportation caused a rise 8% energy demand iIn general the country’s distribution network was put into crisis, causing frequent outages. The government has tried to intervene by imposing taxes on the activities of companies that mine cryptocurrency, and some of them are Accused of working illegally. On the other hand, strong demand for kilowatts has led to higher prices for hydrocarbons, resulting in whirlpool of violence It exploded at the beginning of the year in the major cities of Kazakhstan.

but why Bitcoin transactions have a big impact on electricity bills in countries? To mine the bitcoins that are in the market, it is necessary to operate a lot of computers They are constantly developing complex algorithms. Lots of computations are required which generate energy-intensive activities. The company that deals with virtual currency is now a large warehouse in which they work at the same time Hundreds of computers and many fans who have to cool down . A study by the Alternative Finance CenterCambridge University I calculated that the bitcoin world requires 121 TWh of consumption per year, Equals the energy needs of countries like Poland or Argentina. The International Energy Agency, in turn, calculates that all of this involves production 36 million tons of carbon dioxide, where grids are often powered by coal or gas power plants.

As of January 8, 2022, the value of Bitcoin is calculated just below that €37.000 But the future of this payment system is in question because of him poor transparency, you want it equally bad environmental sustainability. As mentioned, Kazakhstan is not alone in experiencing this problem. over there China I realized this a long time ago: the power outages that some regions experienced in 2021 were caused precisely by cryptocurrency mining activities; It is for this reason that many companies have moved to neighboring Kazakhstan. For the same reason to leave Since June 2021 also Iran He said stop the activity of the bitcoin factories, and the example was It was followed three days ago by Kosovo, the first European countryWhich in turn suffers from constant power outages.