Key facts: Several hash producers say that Bitcoin mining is neither illegal nor can it be banned. «It is not fair to point out that mining is responsible for the electrical failures,» says the miner. “We can help rebuild Venezuela's electrical system,” said a Bitcoin miner in reaction to the measure to close farms and confiscate equipment ordered by the Ministry of Electric Energy in order to combat failures in the energy supply in Venezuela. the country. The government entity reported on Friday that all cryptocurrency mining farms in the country will be disconnected from the National Electrical System (SEN). And shortly after, the governor of the state of Carabobo, Rafael Lacava, explained that he had already have been confiscated thousands and thousands of mining equipment. Digital mining is pointed out as an activity responsible for significant increase in electrical failures that occur in the country, something that the Bitcoin miners who spoke with BitcoinDynamic under condition of anonymity do not agree with. One of these miners, whom we will call Francisco, points out that For farm operators there is no free energy in Venezuela, not stolen either, «because we pay the State for everything consumed by this industry, which is also permitted and supervised by government agencies,» as he noted. «We are not part of the problem, but part of the solution,» adds Eloy, another Venezuelan miner who does not believe it is fair that the digital mining industry is blamed for the electrical failures.
We can make a win-win negotiation because we miners contribute resources to rebuild the SEN by integrating mining into industrial processes. We are aware that the SEN has problems in its transmission and distribution process to bring the energy to its end user and we miners can help in this. Eloy, Venezuelan Bitcoin miner.
Bitcoin mining is not illegal in Venezuela
It is noteworthy that a corruption scandal broke out a year ago which involved the only regulator of the cryptocurrency sector in Venezuela, the National Superintendency of Crypto Assets and Related Activities (Sunacrip). Since then, Bitcoin mining has remained under the shadow of uncertainty. After the corruption scandal, Bitcoin mining farms were shut down throughout the national territory, which left the industry paralyzed, until further notice. At least, until the Pdvsa-Cripto case was clarified, and along with it, the intervention of Sunacrip. It is also worth noting that Venezuela has one of the most important regulations in Latin America for the development of the cryptocurrency industry. In fact, by 2022 already the stigmatization of this activity had been overcome that had affected his growth. Due to this, from a legal point of view «digital mining is a legal activity to which as Venezuelans we all have the right, which is why the fact that someone obstructs it is a threat, even if it is security officials.» Venezuelan specialists who spoke with BitcoinDynamic pointed out in the past. And according to the Constituent Decree on the Comprehensive System of Cryptoactives, approved in Venezuela, miners who operate in national territory do so legally under license, and are supervised by the authorities, as reported by BitcoinDynamic 4 years ago. Likewise, the decree establishes that security agents or officials can be sanctioned with prison of up to five years for preventing cryptocurrency mining in the country. «But the problem is that in Venezuela anything can happen, because at this moment we have no one to turn to. Imagine that the country takes the measure of preventing the circulation of vehicles because that would complicate the supply of fuel. It sounds illogical, right? Well, something like that is what is happening to us miners,» another hash producer told BitcoinDynamic, adding that to make Bitcoin mining an illegal practice in the country, it would be necessary to legislate and dismantle all the laws that regulate the sector.