The authorities of Abkhazia have intensified their efforts to halt cryptocurrency mining in the wake of energy shortages during winter. It has been reported that the breakaway region of Georgia is taking steps to prevent the importation of mining equipment.
Abkhazia Establishes Headquarters To Combat Illicit Crypto Mining Activities
Police in Abkhazia are conducting daily raids to find mining operations that were not officially connected to the power grid. The Northwest Interior Ministry of the partially recognized republic of Georgia was unveiled at a press conference.
The division also stated that it is carefully monitoring the activities of people and entities that provide services for the supply and maintenance of devices designed to mint digital currencies in order to stop the importation of mining hardware into the region which is still prohibited.
By order of President Aslan Bzhania, a republican headquarters has been set up to combat illegal cryptomining. It is headed by the heads of the Ministry of Economy, State Security Service, Ministry of Internal Affairs, State Customs Committee and other departments.
The body is chaired by Prime Minister Alexander Ankvab. According to the government press service, he demanded that the electric engineers in the region investigate all cases of illegal connections of mining farms to distribution networks. Quoted by the Russian RBC business news portal, he said:
The situation in the electric power industry is very problematic. The fight against mining, along with other measures, should significantly reduce the burden on the infrastructure.
Ankvab argued that all unauthorized transformer substation installations and operations must be stopped by law enforcement. The prime minister directed customs officers to investigate and stop attempts to import mining equipment.
This year, many people in Abkhazia have started to mine digital currencies for extra income. The government blames power-hungry production for the country’s rising electricity deficit.
The Russian-backed de facto state quickly banned crypto mining and hardware imports in 2018 in an attempt to deal with the energy crisis. In 2021, the ban was extended until spring 2022 and then renewed.
Do you think Abkhazia is ready to clamp down on cryptocurrency mining? You can leave comments below.
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