“Bitcoin miners pay three times more than Brazil for Paraguay’s energy”

The government of Paraguay has plans for the sale of its electrical energy and, these include Bitcoin miners that operate under the regulation and legal scheme of the Guaraní nation. This was revealed by the Minister of Industry and Commerce, Javier Giménez.

In a conversation held at the Paraguay-Brazil Chamber of Commerce, Minister Giménez explained that, in order to use the energy surplus that currently exists in that country, the government of Santiago Peña wants to “do the smart thing” and give the surplus energy to digital miners, who have a significant electrical demand.

According to Giménez, to use all of Paraguay’s surplus electricity, it would be necessary to have at least 10,000 new industries “of those that generate employment”. However, he acknowledged that this “could take a long time” and that is why they aim to sell the electricity to Bitcoin miners.

“We are racing to attract industries, but how good it would be if in the meantime we do the smart thing and give the energy to cryptominers, where there is demand, so that they can use it in the meantime,” said Giménez, as reported by the local press.

Giménez explained that Paraguay’s energy surplus that is sold to Brazil is sold at a rate of approximately USD 12.60. And he recalled that legal Bitcoin mining farms They pay “up to three times more” that contribution to the Paraguayan State.

The Paraguayan minister recognized that Bitcoin mining farms that operate legally in that country are the only industry that, right now, is profitable. Although he clarified that the government’s plan is that in a few years these operators are displaced “by the industry that generates labor.”

Giménez also recalled that there are Bitcoin mining farms in Paraguay that have allowed the electrical system of that country to be protected. An example is one located in the province of Hernandarias, called Penguin, which turns off the machines when the local electricity demand is high and the National Electricity Administration (ANDE) requests collaboration.

The comments of the Minister of Industry and Commerce of Paraguay come in a context in which more than 50 Bitcoin mining companies operate within the framework of legality in that country. These companies They pay million-dollar energy contracts to ANDE and are regulated by that state institution.

Crusade against illegal mining

Also, Javier Giménez’s comments are offered in the midst of a true crusade against illegal Bitcoin mining. Since the beginning of this year, ANDE, the Public Ministry and other State institutions have made progress in disconnecting clandestine farms, which apparently steal electricity.

So far, the Paraguayan government has seized more than 9,000 Bitcoin miners as part of its crusade against illegal activity. Recently, the raid on a farm near an ANDE headquarters was revealed, where at least 3,000 Bitcoin mining equipment was hidden.

In Paraguay, Bitcoin mining is legal but there is no regulatory framework for this activity. In general, ANDE is the institution in charge of regulating the industry. That is why at least four bills have been presented in Congress, aimed at regularizing digital mining.

Although one of these projects seeks the prohibition of mining and practically all activity related to Bitcoin. But the Discussion of that proposal remains on hold.

This week another project was presented to regulate mining and promote that the activity is carried out “with transparency.” This, amidst insinuations of government corruption linked to this important industry.

What Minister Giménez indicates, which expresses the position of Paraguayan President Santiago Peña, shows that the government of that country recognizes the digital mining industry as one more that is capable of providing resources to the nation. Additionally, the authorities of that country are advancing in the dismantling of clandestine mining farms taking into account article 173 of the Paraguayan Penal Code, which refers to the theft of electrical energy, a punishable act, with a maximum sentence of 3 years.