Kazakhstan has been trying to track down improperly licensed mines in order to reduce the load on the national grid. Legally operating mines were initially under power rationing starting last September and eventually had their power cut off by national grid operator Kazakhstan Electricity Grid Operating Co. (KEGOC) in January.

Miners had flocked to Kazakhstan starting last May, when Chinese authorities announced a crackdown on the sector. By August, Kazakhstan accounted for 18% of computing power on the Bitcoin network, second only to the U.S.

Among the biggest busts in last week's operation were 31.3MW in the Karaganda province, 22MW in Pavlodar, 3.28MW in Turkistan, 1.03MW in Akmola, and 1.03MW in the Kostanay region. The government's work to identify illegal mines will continue.

BitFuFu and BIT Mining are among the notable companies as miners big and small look to move operations overseas.