Nearly 1.5 billion dollars of investment are at risk of being lost if Paraguay continues with its policy of increasing electricity rates for Bitcoin miners. A situation that will also be detrimental to this emerging industry. This is stated by the Paraguayan Chamber of Digital Asset Mining (Capamad), which in a statement sent to BitcoinDynamic detailed that the mining industry could inject USD 1,478,630,000 into the Paraguayan economy by the end of this year. A reality that is at risk of disappearing due to the increase in electricity rates. For Capamad, an entity recently established in Paraguay, the increase in rates by the National Electricity Administration (ANDE) makes the activity unsustainable. and affects 1,170 direct jobs “and numerous indirect jobs”. All of this, “putting the presence of the sector in the country at risk.” Not satisfied, the situation “generates legal uncertainty and an unprecedented loss of confidence in the Paraguayan State and its rulers,” says Capamad, which is made up of the main Bitcoin mining companies operating in Paraguay. Currently in Paraguay There are more than 50 contracts between ANDE and mining companies. Of these, 12 are part of Capamad, which includes companies such as Digital Assets, Bitfarms and Penguin Infrastructure. The organization recalled that companies in the niche have already invested several million dollars in infrastructure and advanced technology. These are investments that “have strengthened the country's economy and have also positioned Paraguay as an international benchmark in the technology sector,” according to Capamad.
Priority is given to Brazil and Argentina
Now, the unionists criticize that with the decision of the ANDE, HE prioritizes the sale of surplus energy to other countriesin this case Brazil and Argentina. This negotiation takes place “at lower prices and generates less income for Paraguay,” the organization questions. The latter coincides with the call of Paraguayan senator Salyn Buzarquis, who questioned the measure of the ANDE and assured that the government steals from legal Bitcoin miners, while rewarding illegal ones who steal electricity. Illegal miners have been the target of the Paraguayan government's crusade, which to date has seized nearly 10,000 Bitcoin ASIC minersas well as a large number of electrical transformers used for the apparently illegal activity. These miners are under the protection of the ANDE and the Public Ministry, which have provided warehouses to safeguard this expensive technological equipment. It is estimated that a law that authorizes the seizure and subsequent liquidation of ASIC be approved in the Chamber of Deputies in the coming days. For Senator Buzarquis, the decision of the ANDE misses the fact that Bitcoin miners They pay up to four times more for electricity that Argentina or Brazil, which are frequent buyers of the Guarani country's surplus energy. As BitcoinDynamic reported last week, ANDE announced a rate increase for Bitcoin miners of up to 16% depending on the type of consumer. It was a measure that, since it was announced, has received pushback from Bitcoin miners duly constituted in that country. As part of the protest, the Paraguayan Chamber of Digital Asset Mining expressed in its recent statement its confidence that the country's authorities “can correct this situation in time”. This is in line with the government’s actions “that seek to position Paraguay worldwide as an attractive country for investments.” Of course, “without putting current businesses at risk or scaring away those of us who have already placed our trust and investments here.”