Will Kazakhstan's new Bitcoin mining strategy evolve into an AI compute playbook?

The decree that Kazakhstan’s President, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, signed in July to allow oil producers to run a direct flared gas to off-grid electricity funnel for the country’s buzzing crypto mining industry has raised a recent existential question about whether the more lucrative opportunity of the AI compute sector could hijack that infrastructure.

The question becomes pertinent as companies continue to make the jump from digital asset mining to AI computing, including Crusoe, which pioneered the strategy Kazakhstan is now exploring, which abandoned Bitcoin mining for AI infrastructure in July 2025.

Kazakhstan’s new decree to optimize Bitcoin mining

The decree that President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev signed in July gave the green light for oil producers to burn otherwise-flared gas for off-grid generation, which can then be used to generate electricity for digital mining, Interfax-Kazakhstan reported.

That excess power redirection is only on the table when those resources are not needed for state purposes.

The same decree, put out by the Ministry of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Development (MAIDD), also proposed carving out an exemption for regulated crypto income from personal income tax, as reported by Cryptopolitan.