It was always easy to steal energy to mine Bitcoin in Paraguay, warns specialist

The problem with Bitcoin mining in Paraguay with the proliferation of Bitcoin mining farms is not its legality or technology, but the lack of security and corruption in the management of the electrical grid.

This is what he indicated Nelson Cristaldo, electrical energy engineer and defender of mining activity. According to the expert, the proliferation of Bitcoin mining equipment and the investment boom in the industry. All of this exposes both the cheap cost of electricity and the vulnerabilities of the system.

“In Paraguay it was too easy to steal energy. It always was, but now it is on a higher scale,” said the engineer, when asked about the Paraguayan government’s crusade against cryptocurrency mining farms that operate illegally.

The body that detects unauthorized Bitcoin mining farms, even with Artificial Intelligence, is the National Electricity Administration (ANDE)which at least since 2024, has already seized more than 6,000 miners.

However, Cristaldo blamed both the regulatory body and authorities of “the prosecutor’s office for their complicity,” as well as those who steal the supply. “There are nearly 60 complaints from ANDE and you have no solution. “No one was arrested for stealing millions of guaraníes per hour,” he said in statements to ABC Cardinal radio.

The engineer recalled that Paraguay is a “very important hub” for Bitcoin mining due to its abundant “hydroelectric energy,” which has quickly attracted large multinationals.

“There are currently about 55 companies mining in Paraguay, of which four or five are the largest and predominantly Paraguayan. “These investments are notable for their speed and magnitude in infrastructure,” he said.

Cristaldo added that “these companies are establishing 100 megawatt stations in just eight months, a task that normally takes between a year and a half to two years.”

This attraction not only occurred among large companies, but also in home networks, with young people who learned to mine simply from a computer. gamer with GPU. Currently, it is only possible to mine Bitcoin with ASIC equipment. “There were many coins that were made in houses and no one knew,” the expert pointed out.

Now, the basis of the investment wave of recent years is based on the surplus energy produced by Paraguay. «We have so much surplus energy that we are giving it to Brazil for 10 dollars per megawatt hour. Same with Argentina, which doesn’t even pay us and owes us 200 million dollars,” Cristaldo mentioned.

“The government finally realized that it was more profitable to sell this energy to Bitcoin mining companies for $40 plus VAT,” he contrasted.

In this context, the Paraguayan government has moved forward in recent months with greater inspection activity and legislative proposals. As reported by CriptoNoticias, there is an intense debate in the local Parliament, with projects that seek to prohibit the industry related to the digital asset.

Recently, the Paraguayan Blockchain Chamberone of the organizations that defends mining activity in that country, expressed its expectation that a rule will emerge that benefits the sector and attacks energy theft, although there is also the possibility that greater restrictions will arise on the industry.

«Regulation and legislation are always one or ten steps behind technological progress. In the United States, it took them a long time to legislate and they continue to adjust their regulations. “Paraguay will take time to generate good legislation for this sector,” Cristaldo warned.