Kuwait Halts Bitcoin Mining Activities Over Energy and Legal Concerns
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Hashim Sheikh
- . April 23, 2025
- . Update: April 23, 2025 11:51 pm
Kuwait’s Ministry of Interior has banned Bitcoin mining entirely in the country as power consumption is too high and the mining carried out is in breach of multiple laws. The government has issued an official statement dated 22 April warning that cryptocurrency mining is unauthorized, unlawful, and operates in contravention of some of existing national regulations: Kuwait’s penal code, communication and IT regulations, industrial laws and municipal rules.
However, the Ministry affirmed that crypto mining is an unsustainable hardship on the nation’s electrical facility and may jeopardize public safety. According to officials, cryptocurrency mining results in excessive consumption of electrical energy, which causes heavy load on the public grid and may cause power outages in residential, commercial, and service areas.
This comes after the broader cryptocurrency prohibition by Kuwait Capital Markets Authority in 2023. The current initiative is a joint effort of several government bodies such as the Ministers of Electricity, Water and Renewable Energy that is aimed at the prevention of infrastructure degradation and conservation of energy usage.
