Kuwait Escalates Illegal Crypto Mining Crackdown, Questioning 116

Kuwaiti authorities have ramped up their crackdown on illegal crypto mining, launching investigations into 31 cases and questioning 116.

According to reports in local media, the investigations involve the illegal use of electricity for crypto mining across 59 residential properties, which authorities claim have strained the national power grid and caused widespread blackouts.

Quoted in local news outlet Kuwait Times, the public prosecutor vowed to take “strict legal action” against those found to have violated the law.

The crackdown comes two weeks after Kuwait’s Ministry of the Interior issued a warning citing the discovery of over 1,000 illegal crypto mining locations in the country.

Crypto mining constitutes “an unlawful exploitation of electrical power,” the ministry stated, later characterizing it as something that poses “a direct threat to public safety,” as cited in a May 1 Reuters report.

Three days after the warning, an intergovernmental committee launched a large-scale security campaign carried out by the Ministry of the Interior’s Criminal Security Sector, targeting illegal crypto mining activities.

In 2023, the country enforced an “absolute ban on all virtual asset/cryptocurrency mining activities,” prodded by a directive from authorities overseeing the Gulf nation’s anti-money laundering initiatives.

Crypto mining summer

Access to electricity for the country’s residents has been estimated as a relatively cheap 4.6 cents per kilowatt-hour, about four times less than the U.S. statewide residential average of 16.44 cents per kilowatt-hour.

Kuwait’s electricity production reached 5,110 Gigawatt-hours in January 2025, according to data from economic analytics firm CEIC Data.

Despite these factors, the Kuwaiti government has urged its residents to minimize usage and conserve energy, with summer temperatures in the region forecast to reach over 52°C, straining its electrical grid.

While electricity is cheap, the country’s general climate is not conducive to crypto mining rigs, which typically require between 1,000 watts (1 kW) to 8 kW of power, according to a 2024 study from the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

Crypto mining represents just one factor among many impacting on electrical grids, even as the industry gradually shifts toward more sustainable practices. Indeed, advocates for the practice argue that crypto mining can actually help to stabilize power grids, while a new study from the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance shows sustainable energy sources for Bitcoin mining has grown to 52.4%, up from  37.6% in 2022.