Kuwait Cracks Down on Crypto Miners as Power Grid Buckles Under Pressure

The Ministry of Interior has begun raiding residential properties suspected of hosting unauthorized mining operations it described in a statement as an “unlawful exploitation of electrical power” that risks blackouts across homes, businesses, and essential services.

Mining operations are a burden on energy infrastructure

At the center of the crackdown is the Al-Wafrah region, where about 100 homes were reportedly using up to 20 times the electricity of a typical household due to mining setups. Following the raids, energy use in the area dropped by 55%, revealing the substantial strain these operations had placed on the grid.

Kuwait’s ultra-cheap, heavily subsidized electricity—among the most affordable globally—has long drawn interest from crypto miners. However, these rates have created significant challenges for the country’s aging power infrastructure, which already faces mounting pressure from surging population growth, rapid urbanization, rising summer temperatures, and chronic delays in plant maintenance. The result: widespread power outages and an urgent need to curb high-consumption activities.

Mining is now clearly targeted by regulators

While cryptocurrency trading is banned in Kuwait, mining had been operating in ambiguous legal area. The current enforcement push signals a policy shift, with regulators targeting over 1,000 suspected mining sites and initiating legal proceedings against those operating illegally.

This crackdown reveals a growing friction in energy-rich nations between the economic promise of digital assets and the management of limited energy infrastructure. Governments and regulators elsewhere are watching closely.