Farmers in UAE have been warned by authorities against using their fields for cryptocurrency mining, calling it “misuse” of agricultural land.
Farmers in Abu Dhabi, in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), have received a warning from the agricultural authority that they cannot mine cryptocurrency on their fields.
The Abu Dhabi Agriculture and Food Safety Authority has reportedly informed farmers that they cannot use their farms for cryptocurrency mining.
UAE Bans Crypto Mining On Farms
The government agency regards this behavior as “misuse of the farm for purposes other than its intended use. “Additionally, those found in violation of this law face fines of up to 10,000 UAE dirhams, or roughly $2,722.
Users can earn cryptocurrencies through a process known as crypto mining, which involves validating transactions on networks that are based on blockchain technology.
In exchange for solving mathematical challenges and ensuring the network’s safety, miners receive newly minted cryptocurrency.
In 2023, the United Arab Emirates emerged as a pro-Bitcoin mining state in the Middle East, despite the fact that crypto mining is now illegal on farms.
Data at the time indicated that the United Arab Emirates had a combined Bitcoin mining capacity of approximately 400 megawatts, which was equivalent to 4% of Bitcoin’s worldwide hash rate.
On the other hand, despite the fact that the UAE is publicly supportive of cryptocurrency, other Middle Eastern countries, such as Kuwait are less accepting of digital assets.
With effect from July 18, Kuwait prohibited any and all activities involving cryptocurrency, including mining. The Capital Markets Authority (CMA), Kuwait’s major financial regulator has confirmed that there is an “absolute prohibition” on usage instances involving cryptocurrencies, including mining cryptocurrencies.
In spite of the positions taken by other nations, the United Arab Emirates continues to serve as a center for a large number of crypto-focused enterprises. Chainalysis, a blockchain analytics company and Blockdaemon, an institutional infrastructure provider only expanded their operations into the United Arab Emirates in May.
On May 8th, Chainalysis’ regional headquarters were established in Dubai. To foster innovation, the company has collaborated with various local government agencies and provided guidance on the construction of regulatory frameworks.
Blockdaemon inaugurated a new office in Abu Dhabi on May 13, expanding the company’s presence in the United Arab Emirates. A member of the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), which is one of the financial authorities in the country, gave its approval to the expansion plans, according to the company.
In addition, crypto-native projects are of the opinion that the United Arab Emirates has been highly forward-thinking in terms of cryptocurrency.
Sergey Nazarov, one of the co-founders of Chainlink, stated in a recent interview that the government, regulators, legal system, and economy of Dubai are all favorable to the cryptocurrency field.