-1.37% Bitcoin (BTC) 96594.6 EUR
-2.60% Ethereum (ETH) 3428.27 EUR
-3.43% Litecoin (LTC) 82.74 EUR
+1.32% B-Cash (BCH) 487.54 EUR
-1.19% Ethereum (ETH) 0.0358752 BTC
-1.83% Litecoin (LTC) 0.00086658 BTC
+2.59% B-Cash (BCH) 0.00506313 BTC
-1.40% Bitcoin (BTC) 113591.1953 USDC
+0.12% USD Coin (USDC) 0.85 EUR
-2.23% Chainlink (LINK) 15.41 EUR
-1.03% Chainlink (LINK) 0.00015988 BTC
-2.69% Dogecoin (DOGE) 0.16 EUR
-1.70% Dogecoin (DOGE) 0.00000173 BTC
-2.47% Uniswap (UNI) 5.5 EUR
-1.57% Uniswap (UNI) 0.00005696 BTC
-3.40% Cardano (ADA) 0.55 EUR
-2.20% Cardano (ADA) 0.00000577 BTC
-0.74% Tron (TRX) 0.25 EUR
+0.37% Tron (TRX) 0.00000265 BTC
-1.78% Shiba Inu (SHIB) 0.00000878 EUR
-4.73% Zcash (ZEC) 276.92 EUR
0.00% Zcash (ZEC) 0.0004242 BTC
0.00% TradeFlow (TFLOW) 0.12216892 BUSD
-4.33% Arbitrum (ARB) 0.315 USDC
-2.55% Chainlink (LINK) 17.76 USD
-2.72% Chainlink (LINK) 17.76077 USDC
-2.71% Uniswap (UNI) 6.316 USDC
-1.65% Ondo (ONDO) 0.62 EUR
-2.23% Ondo (ONDO) 0.72901 USDC
-2.52% Gala (GALA) 0 EUR
-3.67% Gala (GALA) 0.01074 USDC
-2.26% Wormhole Token (W) 0.06 EUR
-3.03% Wormhole Token (W) 0.0701 USDC
-1.78% Chiliz (CHZ) 0.02 EUR
-1.56% Chiliz (CHZ) 0.0319 USDC
-1.58% Sand (SAND) 0.18 EUR
-2.28% Sand (SAND) 0.2096 USDC
-2.83% Aave (AAVE) 196.2 EUR
-3.08% Aave (AAVE) 228.34 USDC
-4.32% Curve DAO (CRV) 0.45 EUR
-4.34% Curve DAO (CRV) 0.5332 USDC
-1.86% Immutable X (IMX) 0.44 EUR
-2.07% Immutable X (IMX) 0.5177 USDC
0.00% Skale (SKL) 0.07 USDC
-3.36% Beam (BEAM) 0 EUR
-3.65% Beam (BEAM) 0.00501 USDC
0.00% Axelar (AXL) 1.05 USDC
-1.61% Livepeer Token (LPT) 4.25 EUR
-2.09% Livepeer Token (LPT) 4.945 USDC
-2.32% Compound (COMP) 31.03 EUR
-3.35% Compound (COMP) 36.01 USDC
-1.71% Coti (COTI) 0.02 EUR
-1.18% Coti (COTI) 0.0334 USDC
0.00% Portal (PORTAL) 1.1 USDC
-3.95% Sushi (SUSHI) 0.44 EUR
-4.40% Sushi (SUSHI) 0.5149 USDC
-2.62% Pepe (PEPE) 0 EUR
-3.22% Pepe (PEPE) 0.0000069 USDC
-3.68% Optimism (OP) 0.37 EUR
0.00% Polygon (MATIC) 0.2 EUR
-4.36% Solana (SOL) 165.5 EUR
-3.21% Solana (SOL) 0.0017116 BTC
-1.23% Solana (SOL) 0.048564 ETH
+0.49% USD Coin (USDC) 0.75 GBP
0.00% USD Coin (USDC) 1 USDT
0.00% USD Coin (USDC) 145.58 JPY
0.00% USD Coin (USDC) 4.25 PLN
0.00% USD Coin (USDC) 10.93 SEK

Paraguay to reconsider Bitcoin mining ban, mulls selling energy to miners

04-11-2024

Paraguay’s lawmakers have proposed an alternative to a controversial Bitcoin mining blanket ban and are set to debate the topic later this month.

Paraguayan senators have halted progress on the proposed cryptocurrency mining ban introduced last week, with officials now considering the benefits of selling excess energy from its Itaipu hydropower plant to miners instead of exporting it to Brazil and Argentina.

A debate will be held in an April 23 public hearing to discuss the benefits and drawbacks of Bitcoin mining in the country, Senator Lilian Samaniego confirmed in an April 10 senate session.

It comes about a week after lawmakers introduced a draft law on April 4 to at least temporarily ban Bitcoin mining for 180 days, claiming illegal cryptocurrency mines have been stealing power and disrupting the country’s electricity supply.

However, days later, Paraguayan lawmakers approved a declaration to support local and foreign investment infrastructure four days later on April 8 — which Senator Salyn Buzarquis hopes will push the Paraguayan Ministry of Industry to study the economic advantages of selling excess energy to Bitcoin miners instead.

In an April 8 letter to Congress, Buzarquis noted the 45 licensed cryptocurrency miners are on track to generate $48 million for the National Electricity Administration (ANDE) by 2024 — with that figure expected to reach $125 million by 2025 after miners install more equipment.

With the cost of electricity production at Paraguay’s Itaipu’s hydropower plant hovering around the $22 per megawatt-hour (MWh) range, ANDE could generate a 45% net profit margin by selling off excess energy to local Bitcoin miners at $40/MWh.

This equates to $73 million annually and about $17 million in value added tax for the treasury, noted Buzarquis, who went on to claim that Bitcoin mining operations could even save ANDE from filing for bankruptcy.

“This flow of funds is what is going to save ANDE from going bankrupt; to be able to invest more in infrastructure and not to raise the rate for Paraguyans.”

Paraguay currently sells energy to Brazil at a subsidized $10/ MWh rate, Buzarquis noted.

Cryptocurrency mining could also generate more employment opportunities for the local economy, Buzarquis added in the April 10 senate session.

The earlier April 4 bill, lawmakers argued that there have been 50 cases of interrupted power supply linked to cryptocurrency miners illegally tapping into these electricity sources since February.

If passed, it could impact one of the largest industry players, Marathon Digital Holdings, which expanded into Paraguay last November, deploying 27 megawatts around the Itaipu hydroelectric power plant.

The controversy in Paraguay comes as Bitcoin miners prepare for the upcoming Bitcoin halving event expected to take place on April 20, which will slice miner rewards from 6.25 BTC ($442,000) to 3.125 BTC ($221,000).

Source: Cointelegraph.