Oman centralizes mining: all licensed companies are required to operate through a state pool
The Sultanate of Oman is taking a decisive step toward state control over cryptocurrency mining. The Ministry of Transport, Communications, and Information Technology, together with Frontier Technologies, has officially launched a national mining pool. The key innovation: all licensed mining operations within the country are required to connect to this pool.
Infrastructure and Capacity
The technological base and liquidity infrastructure for the pool were provided by Enegix Global, a company specializing in digital asset solutions. At the initial stage, the pool plans to aggregate approximately 10 EH/s of computing power. This is a significant figure, placing Oman alongside small but notable mining jurisdictions.
Investment Boom in Salalah
Since 2022, total investments in mining and data centers in the Salalah Free Zone have exceeded $700 million. Of particular note is the recently built hydro-cooled mining facility worth $370 million. Such investments demonstrate the state's long-term interest in developing this sector.
My analytical assessment. Oman's decision is a logical continuation of the trend toward sovereign crypto infrastructure. Mandatory connection to the national pool gives the regulator full control over hash rate distribution, operational transparency, and, more importantly, the tax base. For miners, this means a loss of flexibility in choosing a pool, but in return, they gain a stable jurisdiction with clear rules. Amid global regulatory tightening, such "state pools" could become the new norm for Gulf countries.