Bitcoin Hash Rate Migration from Kazakhstan: Why Miners Are Leaving and Where They're Going

When Kazakhstan’s power grid started blacking out in 2021, it wasn’t because of a winter storm or a transformer failure. It was because Bitcoin miners were sucking up 7% of the country’s entire electricity supply. In Ekibastuz, where massive mining farms lined up like industrial warehouses, machines ran nonstop-burning through coal-generated power meant for homes, hospitals, and schools. The government shut them off. Within weeks, miners scrambled to find new homes. Now, in early 2026, that exodus is still unfolding-and reshaping the entire Bitcoin network.

Why Kazakhstan Was a Mining Magnet

Kazakhstan didn’t set out to become a Bitcoin powerhouse. It just happened. After the Soviet Union collapsed, the country was left with old power plants, cheap coal, and unused grid capacity. By 2018, miners from Russia and China started moving in. They didn’t need fancy permits. They didn’t need to explain what they were doing. They just plugged in, paid a low fixed rate, and started hashing.

By 2021, Kazakhstan had jumped to second place in global Bitcoin hash rate-behind only China. At its peak, the country hosted over 18% of the world’s mining power. The mining hubs in Ekibastuz and Pavlodar became the unsung backbone of Bitcoin’s security. Every time the network adjusted difficulty, it was partly because of machines running in Central Asia.

But cheap power came with a hidden cost: instability.

The Grid Broke-and So Did Trust

In January 2022, after months of protests over rolling blackouts, Kazakhstan’s government cut off mining operations from the national grid. Not all of them. Just enough to send a message. Miners who had spent millions on rigs suddenly found their machines dead. Some switched to diesel generators. Others packed up and left.

The government tried to fix things. They passed rules requiring miners to register. They started taxing electricity use. They even blocked over 15,800 unauthorized crypto transactions in Q1 2025, worth $3.07 million. But the damage was done. Trust in the country as a reliable mining hub was gone.

Miners aren’t irrational. They don’t move because they hate Kazakhstan. They move because they need uptime. Bitcoin mining is a 24/7 business. A single day of downtime can cost thousands in lost rewards and increased electricity bills. When the grid can’t be trusted, the math stops making sense.

The Big Exit: Canaan’s Withdrawal

The clearest sign that this wasn’t just a temporary shake-up came in July 2025, when Canaan-once the third-largest Bitcoin miner in the world-officially pulled out of Kazakhstan. Their hashrate dropped from 6.67 EH/s in May to 5.56 EH/s in July. That’s a 17% loss in computing power, all from one country.

Canaan didn’t just shut down. They relocated. Half of the machines they pulled out of Kazakhstan were already back online in Texas by August. The rest followed in the next two months. They didn’t go to Iran or Russia. They went where the power is stable, the regulations are clear, and the grid doesn’t blink.

This wasn’t an isolated move. Other miners quietly followed. Smaller operators packed up their rigs and shipped them to Georgia, Paraguay, and even Texas. Some moved to new data centers in the U.S. Midwest, where excess wind and solar power is sold directly to miners through long-term contracts.

Where Is the Hashrate Going?

The global Bitcoin hash rate hit 1.041 billion TH/s in September 2025-the highest ever recorded. That’s up nearly 50% from the year before. And yet, Kazakhstan’s share fell from 18% to 14.8%. So where did the lost power go?

• United States: Now leads with 35.4% of global hash rate. Texas, Georgia, and Washington state are the top three states hosting new mining farms. Many use renewable energy contracts with local utilities.
• China: Still holds 12% after a quiet comeback. Most operations are now in Sichuan and Inner Mongolia, running on hydro and coal, respectively. The government allows it-so long as miners pay taxes and don’t touch the grid.
• Canada: Up to 9.6%. Quebec and Ontario offer cheap hydro power and stable regulatory environments. Canadian miners are now among the most efficient in the world.
• Other players: Iran (2.3%), Russia (4.7%), and Malaysia (3.2%) are growing slowly. But none match the scale or reliability of the U.S. or Canada.

The trend is clear: miners aren’t fleeing to just any country. They’re moving to places with predictable power, transparent rules, and long-term contracts. Kazakhstan can’t compete on those terms-not yet.

Kazakhstan’s Attempt to Rebuild

The Kazakh government isn’t giving up. In 2025, they launched a 70/30 energy policy: 70% of new thermal power plant output goes to the national grid. Only 30% is reserved for crypto mining. It’s a compromise. They want mining revenue without risking blackouts again.

They’ve also started offering tax breaks to registered miners who use renewable sources. Some mining companies are now building solar-powered farms in the southern regions, away from the overloaded grid. But progress is slow. Building new power plants takes years. And miners? They move fast.

Kazakhstan still has the lowest electricity cost in the region. It still has the space. It still has the ambition. But ambition doesn’t pay bills when your machines sit idle for three days because the grid failed.

What This Means for Bitcoin

Some people worry that when miners leave one country, the network gets weaker. That’s not true. Bitcoin’s hash rate keeps climbing. It’s stronger now than ever.

Why? Because the migration isn’t a loss-it’s a redistribution. The machines aren’t disappearing. They’re just moving to places where they can run longer, cheaper, and safer. The result? A more resilient network.

The U.S. and Canada now host over 45% of global hash rate. That’s a massive shift from just five years ago. And it’s not because those countries are better at mining. It’s because they’re better at supporting mining.

Bitcoin’s security doesn’t depend on one country. It depends on decentralization. Kazakhstan’s decline actually helped that goal. Miners aren’t concentrated in one unstable region anymore. They’re spread across continents, using diverse energy sources, under different legal systems.

That’s not a weakness. That’s the whole point of Bitcoin.

What’s Next for Miners?

If you’re a miner right now, you’re not asking, “Should I leave Kazakhstan?” You’re asking, “Where can I get a 5-year power contract with no blackout clauses?”

The new mining hubs aren’t defined by cheap electricity alone. They’re defined by:

• Contract stability
• Grid reliability
• Clear tax and licensing rules
• Access to renewable energy
• Political neutrality

Countries like Georgia, Paraguay, and even parts of Saudi Arabia are now on miners’ radar. They’re offering incentives. They’re building dedicated power lines. They’re signing agreements with mining firms that last a decade.

Kazakhstan? It’s still in the game. But it’s no longer the default choice. Miners who stayed there are the ones who couldn’t afford to move. The rest? They’re already running in new locations-with fewer headaches and more uptime.

The Bigger Picture

This migration isn’t about Kazakhstan failing. It’s about Bitcoin evolving. The network doesn’t care where the miners are. It only cares that they keep hashing. And as long as there’s cheap power and a stable grid somewhere, miners will find it.

The lesson? Don’t bet on a country. Bet on infrastructure. And if your mining operation relies on a single grid that can be shut off by a political decision? You’re already behind.

Bitcoin’s future isn’t in one place. It’s everywhere there’s electricity-and the will to use it.