Oman centralizes mining: mandatory national pool for all licensed miners
Sovereign regulation of cryptocurrency mining is reaching a new level. Oman has officially launched a national mining pool, which all licensed digital asset miners in the country are required to join. This decision marks a transition from a fragmented industry to centralized state control over computing power.
The project was implemented by Oman's Ministry of Transport, Communications and Information Technology in partnership with Frontier Technologies. Enegix Global acted as the key technology partner, providing the pool platform and liquidity infrastructure. In the initial phase, the combined pool will accumulate approximately 10 EH/s of hashrate — a figure that places Oman alongside notable regional players.
Investment Boom and Infrastructure Giants
Since 2022, total investment in mining capacity and data centers in the Salalah Free Economic Zone has exceeded $700 million. The most large-scale project is a mining farm with hydro-cooling systems costing $370 million. These figures indicate that Oman is not just experimenting with digital assets but is making a long-term bet on developing the industry in a hot climate.
The creation of a mandatory national pool addresses several objectives: first, it increases operational transparency and facilitates tax control; second, it allows the state to directly influence hashrate distribution and mining strategy. For private miners, this means losing autonomy in choosing a pool, but in return, they gain guaranteed liquidity and reduced operational risks.
My analysis: Oman's initiative is a logical step for countries seeking to monetize energy resources through mining while fearing uncontrolled capital outflows. If the model proves successful, we will see similar cases in other oil-producing Gulf states. However, centralization carries risks: a single point of failure for the country's entire hashrate and potential pressure on participants in the event of regulatory policy changes.