Uzbekistan warms up to Bitcoin mining, but there’s a catch

The executive order spares all the mined assets from #taxation and bans mining #anonymous currencies.

The National Agency of Prospective Projects (#NAPP) in #Uzbekistan announced its demands toward #crypto mining operators. It would only allow the companies that use solar energy to mine #Bitcoin (BTC) or other cryptocurrencies.

The normative act on the #government page, dated June 24, describes the confirmation of “Guidelines on the registration of the crypto assets mining,” and sets the finalization date on July 9. The second article of the document offers an uncompromising wording:

“#Mining is being carried out only by the legal entity with the use of electric #energy, provided by a solar photovoltaic power plant.”
As a further complication, the miners should own the solar photovoltaic power plant that they will use for energy.

The executive order also obliges any mining operator to obtain a certificate and register in the national registry of crypto mining companies. This procedure demands a brief list of documents, and should take no more than 20 days from submitting to the final decision to the licensing body. The certificates would be valid for one year after the registration.

All the #currency generated from mining activities would be spared #taxation, though the #miningfarms would face the special tariffs on the consumed energy set by the #Uzbekistan government. But, the trade operations with mined assets would have to be conducted only on the exchange platforms that are registered in #Uzbekistan. The mining of anonymous #cryptocurrencies would be prohibited.

In April 2022, the freshly-restructured #NAPP became #Uzbekistan’s exclusive crypto regulator with the mission to adopt a special crypto #regulation regime in the country. This move came in a row of initiatives launched by the Uzbekistan President Shavkat Mirziyoyev to provide the regulatory framework for crypto. In September 2018, Mirziyoyev signed a law prohibiting local firms from launching their #crypto exchanges in Uzbekistan. The law only offered legal status to crypto exchanges established by foreign legal entities.