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Kuwait’s Crackdown on Crypto Miners: The Surprising Reason You Can’t Keep Your Fridge On

BBG News

Remember when Kuwait was the discount aisle of the Bitcoin mining supermarket? Those days are over, my friend. The government has swooped in with the subtlety of your mom bursting into your room with a vacuum cleaner—citing “rising electricity demands” like a parent cites “your future” at the mention of art school. Blackouts are trending, and apparently, crypto miners are the new culprits, or at least the most conveniently blamed.

On Thursday, May 1 (yes, that’s a real date, and no, it’s not April Fool’s), authorities in Kuwait started knocking on doors of suspected crypto mining operations. You know, just your standard “We’re from the government, and we’re here to audit your air conditioning and your Bitcoin farms” routine. The sweep left over 60 folks under investigation, which is a record if you ignore literally every other crime sweep that’s ever happened.

According to the ministry: Crypto mining operations “constitute an unlawful exploitation of electrical power … and may cause outages affecting residential, commercial and service areas, posing a direct threat to public safety.”
Translation: Sorry, the Wi-Fi’s out because Chad down the street wants to buy a Lambo in Ethereum.

Kuwait grapples with energy-hungry humans (and their air conditioners) 🥵

Let’s set the scene: Kuwait has more people, higher temperatures, and apparently a global leaderboard spot for “country most likely to fry an egg on a car hood.” May temperatures reach a sweltering 32°C to 39°C (that’s 90°F to 102°F for the “I refuse to use Celsius” crowd). Naturally, everyone cranks the AC, because no one moves to Kuwait to sweat like it’s a Bikram yoga class.

Here’s the kicker: electricity in Kuwait is so cheap, you could basically mine Bitcoin for the cost of a vending machine snack. Some nerdy report says it’s around 2.9 cents per kilowatt-hour—enough to make Americans weep quietly over their power bills. Combine that with competitive Bitcoin mining economics, and you’ve got a nerd’s version of Spring Break.

No surprise Kuwait’s become a hotbed for crypto mining as everybody wants a piece of that sweet, low-cost power pie. But alas, when everyone wants to mine, someone has to unplug their fridge. Not to be outdone, countries like Russia and China brought their own banhammers to the crypto mining party. Russia says their grid can’t hack it; China claims it’s for the “green energy transition” (which is government-speak for “we want to control everything and also slightly reduce smog”).

So, if you’re dreaming of mining Bitcoin in your Kuwait basement, it’s probably time to invest in something more stable, like collectible Beanie Babies. At least those won’t cause a blackout. Probably.

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2025-05-02 01:00

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