BREAKDOWN: Internet Shut Down, Bitcoin Mining Offline as Kazakhstan’s Political Crisis Escalates

A brief overview of the protests that have rocked the Central Asian company over the last week. This episode is sponsored by Nexo, Abra and FTX US. On today’s episode of “The Breakdown,” NLW provides a basic primer on the escalating political crisis in Kazakhstan. He covers: The country’s basic economic overview and modern political history. The fuel price increase that started protests on Sunday. How protests spread throughout the week and became about a larger set of grievances. The country’s dramatic decision to shut down the internet. The implications for bitcoin mining Where things stand today. - Nexo is a powerful, all-in-one crypto platform where you can securely store your crypto. Invest, borrow, exchange and earn up to 17% APR on Bitcoin and 20+ other top coins. Insured for $375M. Audited in real-time by Armanino. Rated excellent on Trustpilot. Get started today at nexo.io. - Abra is proud to sponsor The Breakdown. Join 1M+ users and Conquer Crypto with Abra, a simple and secure app where you can trade 110+ cryptocurrencies, get 0% interest loans using crypto as collateral, and earn interest with up to 14% APY on stablecoins and 8.15% APY on Bitcoin. Visit Abra.com to get started. - FTX US is the safe, regulated way to buy Bitcoin, ETH, SOL and other digital assets. Trade crypto with up to 85% lower fees than top competitors and trade ETH and SOL NFTs with no gas fees and subsidized gas on withdrawals. Sign up at FTX.US today. - “The Breakdown '' is written, produced by and features Nathaniel Whittemore aka NLW, with editing by Rob Mitchell and Michele Musso, research by Scott Hill and additional production support by Eleanor Pahl. Adam B. Levine is our executive producer and our theme music is “Countdown” by Neon Beach. The music you heard today behind our sponsor is “Time” by OBOY. Image credit: Mikhail Svetlov/Getty Images Europe, modified by CoinDesk. Join the discussion at discord.gg/VrKRrfKCz8. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.