It has been revealed that the government of Uzbekistan is planning to regulate cryptocurrency trading and implement blockchain technologies this year. The information was conveyed by the National Agency for Project Management (NAPM) during a press conference on Monday. According to the agency, the proposed mining pool is to assist with the consolidation of the capabilities of domestic and foreign miners nationally.

According to local news outlet Spot, NAPM is trying to achieve economic efficiency and make cryptocurrency mining in the country more transparent and secure. NAPM is looking forward to improvement in energy efficiency in this sector and increase the country’s attractiveness to foreign investors.

One of the means the agency wants to use to uplift the cryptocurrency mining industry is the establishment of a national mining pool. Another means is the launch of the first licensed digital asset exchange in the coming week, for mining firms to sell digital coins obtained when they process cryptocurrency transactions.

The official opening of Uznex (based in Tashkent) is scheduled for January 20. It is a platform under the operation of Kobea Group and its website is presently in beta, showing seven trading pairs with BTC and USDT.

In Sept. 2018, the country’s president signed a special decree to legalize crypto trading and introduce licensing for cryptocurrency exchanges. In July 2018, the president issued another decree to prepare legal grounds for activities related to cryptocurrency in general and to implement blockchain technologies.

However, the government of the country has done things potentially negative and could affect the emerging cryptocurrency industry. Reports have it that the regulatory regime was amended to restrict the chances for private individuals to utilize cryptocurrency. The local media reported that NAPM released an order last month banning people in the country from purchasing and trading cryptos. The order restricts them to the sale of coins on licensed exchanges in Uzbekistan.

Another measure focused on domestic mining farms. The government established higher rates (three times the previous) for electricity consumption by the farms. People within the mining industry cautioned that any increment that is more than 1.7 times the previous tariff would remove profits based on the prices of cryptocurrency at the moment. As the market continues to recover, profits accruable from Bitcoin mining have improved, while electricity rates are also still a key factor.

Nevertheless, the industry hopes things will get better as the government is planning to create a mining pool. The agency wants to allow members of the national mining pool to pay for electricity consumption at standard rates against the increased rates, as a way to encourage participation in this pool, said the deputy director of the agency Vyacheslav Pak. The firms that do not participate will be charged the high price.