PANews reported on December 10th that, according to Asia-Plus, Tajikistan has passed amendments to its Criminal Code, introducing criminal penalties for the illegal use of electricity to mine virtual assets and cryptocurrencies. Under the new regulations, violators will face fines ranging from 15,000 to 75,000 Somoni, or imprisonment for two to eight years. Previously, cryptocurrencies were neither legal nor illegal in Tajikistan, existing in a regulatory gray area.