KUWAIT CITY, Feb 16: The Criminal Court, presided over by Judge Hamoud Mishari Al- Shami, acquitted three defendants of cryptocurrency mining, harming national interests, establishing an industrial project without a license, and using residential buildings for other purposes.
In its reasoning, the court affirmed that cryptocurrency mining remains a permissible activity in the absence of legislation regulating or criminalizing it. The court pointed out that cryptocurrency mining cannot be categorized under traditional concepts, such as industrial projects or crimes harming national interests through broad interpretation, as this will violate the principle of legality and infringe upon the sanctity of homes and constitutionally protected freedoms.
It clarified that Kuwait has not enacted legislation prohibiting or regulating cryptocurrency mining, either by banning it or by establishing controls for its practice. It stated that including cryptocurrency mining under the definition of ‘industrial project’ in Industry Law No. 56/1996 is an impermissible expansion of the interpretation of penal provisions. This activity does not involve converting raw materials into products, as it is a modern electronic activity that has a different nature than traditional industrial projects
By Jaber Al-Hamoud Al-Seyassah/Arab Times Staff